Home or Prison
by Dracannia
Summary: Nicole was taken by, not the Decepticons, but the Autobots to become part of a study. She meets up with a fun-loving and daring mech who has a dark past he wants no one know about. FULL SUMMARY INSIDE! And this is kind of AU.
1. Nicole Baring

**Full summary**: Nicole was spending her boring life at home during summer vacation, doing nothing but waiting for someone to call and make plans with her. A small ball of light captures her and sends her to Cybertron. There she is kept under lock and key, the Autobots being afraid of what an organic might do to them. A fun-loving, daring, feisty mech meets up with along the way. But there's something about him that he doesn't want anyone to know about, especially Nicole. How is he to tell her?

* * *

Chapter I

Nicole sat there, staring at the black screen of the television. She already checked to see what was on, and there was nothing of interest, not even on SyFy. The girl didn't want to watch any of the movies they had, spend any sort of time on the Internet, and didn't feel like reading a book or playing a video game. She would've gone outside, but she was already sunburned--or more like sun-fried--from last week on the boat ride to the beach. Her mom was sleeping in her room--a nighttime nurse, or, as Nicole's nickname for her, a human owl--and the dog laid sluggishly on the wooden floor in front of her. Shadow, the black lab, was half asleep and would only reopen his eyes to the motion of Nicole getting up to grab a snack.

Whenever she did try to eat, she would open the refrigerator to nothing that fitted her taste and the cabinet doors to canned food she was sure she would burn and a popcorn box. She had swore to herself that she wouldn't live off of popcorn the way her dad used to. Frustrated, she slammed the cabinet door, making the dog get up and walk to the kitchen just to see what the noise was. Nicole moved to the refrigerator one more time and grabbed a hot dog out of a plastic wrapper. She stuck in the microwave for twenty seconds, hearing it sizzle a bit. The dirty blonde looked to see if there were any hot dog holders, but she would have to stick to Mom's whole wheat bread. Once she took the meat out and wrapped it in the bread slice, she looked at the dog, his ears looking like triangles on the side of his head and gold-orange eyes asking for a piece.

"This is mine, Rufus Doofus," she said. "I'm-a eat this." Nicole took a large bite, making the dog slump and walk away, sad that he didn't get what he wanted. Nicole tried to teach the dog that it was wrong to beg. But it didn't help when her dad always gave him a slice of turkey each time Shadow flashed a puppy-dog look. That black dog was spoiled rotten and everyone knew it, too.

Nicole walked back to the living room and sat on the couch. Everything was boring now; her mom slept all day and dad was kicked out of the house for having a secret girlfriend--who even knew he was married in the first place. She looked at Shadow to see him stare straight at the hot dog, ears in position.

"No way, stoop." She took a large bite out of her lunch. "We can't have you going fat and lazy on us." Shadow seemed to raise an eyebrow, if he ever had one. "Fine, I'm lazy, too. But just because there's nothing to do! And, no, I won't throw a chew toy down the hall. That'll just wake her up."

Shadow laid down and brought his head over one of his front legs as if to say "Pretty please?".

"I told you, no!" Another bite. With her mouth full she muttered "Stupid dog. Doesn't listen to half of what we say." It was true. They would leave the dog outside for only a few minutes and he would have already escaped from a hole they couldn't find and run off to some other house that had dogs he could play with. The longest the lab's ever gone away from home was three full days. Nicole would pop him on the nose once to see if it would do anything, but he would never get the big picture and run away next time he got the chance. That's why they had a chain wrapped around a tree and the other end connect to Shadow's collar. Let's see him pull the tree from it's roots and run down the street with _that_! It would definitely be a YouTube scene, right? Skinny black chocolate dog dragging a five-feet diameter tree behind him. Picture it.

Nicole flipped open the laptop next to her on the arm of the couch and clicked on her email address. Her heart stopped for a split second until she realized she just held her breath for nothing.

"No messages," she sighed. "That's it. It's official; I'm boring as mud." She slapped the laptop shut and crossed her arms angrily in front of her chest. "This totally sucks. The summer before the first day of high school and I don't even have a good story to tell. Does anything happen in the middle of summer, besides my birthday which no one came to?" Some friends, eh? Everyone had something to do on July fifteen except for Nicole and her mom. Was there anything exciting to do before the four hellish years of high school started?

xXx

Brianna: Sorry that it's so short.

Nicole: *mutters* I'll say...

Brianna: But first chapters for stories like these always have to be more like an introductory. Nicole is my middle name, so she's more like me than you know. And, yeah, the half-boring summer and Shadow are real as well. the only thing different is that I didn't bother to put my sister in this time.

Brittany: Hey! Not fair!

Brianna: But it's my story!

Brittany: I'm still your sister!

Brianna: Heck, this is all fiction and you know it!

Nicole: Here we go...*turns on MP3 while Brianna and Brittany keep bickering; singing softly* No apologies. I'd never thought you'd be so easily decieved...

* * *

Song: Noots  
Originally performed: Sum 41

And usually we call our dog by many names; Rufus Doofus, Rufus Doofus _Goof_us, Shadow-man, Shadow-dog, Stoop Dog (almost like Snoop Dogg XD), Shadow Stoop, and Puppy-man as well as Puppy-dog. Any questions?

You don't have to review, since there's not much to comment on. ;)


	2. Psalm 23

Before this one starts up, my story is a mix of G1 and Animated. And I made Optimus as G1, Sentinel as Animated (for fun, you know?) So Optimus rules Cybertron without any lip from S.P. =P

Chapter II

"_I still run, I still swing open your door…I still think you'll be there like before…Doesn't anybody out there know to never come 'round? Some things a heart won't listen to. I'm still holdin' out for you…_Okay, now I'm just depressing myself." Nicole turned off her radio and unplugged the MP3. She let her entire body fall backwards onto the bed, having her arms out straight behind her like she was being tied down. There was absolutely nothing, I repeat, _nothing _to do in this entire house. Television had nothing (only some stupid shows with stupid people), movies became boring on her after watching them six times over, she couldn't go outside to skate while her mom slept (both were afraid of child abduction), and none of her friends seemed as though they wanted to talk to her (she didn't like talking on the phone anyway). "Grandpa, if you're listening, tell God that I'm bored and I need something to do to occupy myself. And make it something worth talking about; I don't want to go to my friends and say nothing when they bring up the question 'What'd you do over the summer?'. I'll be the only one who hasn't done anything! Please, can you tell Him?"

She expected some form of answer, but, typically, none came. There were probably twenty other things out there to do over the summer, but she wasn't able to do any of them since she was trapped at home. Disappointed, she dragged herself out of her bedroom to grab a Dr. Pepper from the 'fridge.

"Fire in the hole," was her joke as she opened the can. Nicole half thought that some of the soda got onto her shirt, but it was only a night shirt; who cares? The dirty blonde looked at her black dog to see him stare back up at her. "What, pup?" Shadow only kept his stare and tilted his head slightly. "You need to go outside?" His head moved up a notch. "Fine, come on."

Shadow followed behind her as she opened the back door to let him out.

"And don't you dare run off to Cody's!" she shouted to him. She closed the door and took another sip of her soda. Lord, that was drink was like a wake up call in a hotel; the loud ringing of the little black telephone by the bed.

She sat on the couch and brought her hand to the right to grab the remote control. When it wasn't there, she figured she'd have to do this the "old-school" way and get up and press the knobs. Right now, she didn't care if she wanted to watch TV or not; she needed some kind of noise. To check which channel she left off, Nicole let it start up for ten seconds, but there was nothing but a fuzzy screen. She checked to see the channel; thirty-eight. That was Discovery Channel were she lived and didn't recall it being removed from her cable as well. Man, all these people want to take away her shows just so they can to get people to buy a digital converter to suck the money out of families. Well, her family couldn't afford one since they already had so many other problems in the house and Mom was working single.

She pressed the down channel button until it came down to four, the TV Guide. That channel was gone as well.

"You've gotta be kidding," she groaned. She kept pressing buttons until, finally, the television itself turned off and she heard the house shut down.

"Bull crap!" she shouted. Nicole was only glad that it was four in the afternoon and the sky wasn't filling up with grey clouds. "That's not fair." She walked down the hallway until she reached the main power unit stuck to the wall. She opened it up and checked each switch, every one turned on.

"JEA detects an outage in our area," she muttered, recalling the last time they did this. She checked to see if the water still worked, but all she heard a loud metal groan as she turned the knob.

"No fricking way…" Nicole turned the knob to its off position and walked to the 'fridge. The light bulb didn't turn on, and the machine made no sound, so she had to grab a Capri Sun quick and close the door before any cold air was released. "Not my day…"

She sucked down the entire drink and threw it away. Nicole heard a scratching sound at the door and saw that it was Shadow being a wimp. Sighing, she opened the door. The dog ran in fast with something following inside with it.

"Holy crap!" Nicole shouted, falling over a cooler that should've been brought back to the laundry room. A little blue ball of light hovered several feet away from her and floated right between the ceiling and the tiled floor. Nicole slowly stood up and looked at the ball.

"It's, uh…An orb," she said, using her ghost logic from all those episodes of _A Haunting _she used to watch. A few steps closer towards it and the ball's light shined into her eyes and reflected off her face. "Mom blessed this house when I was a baby, it ain't gonna hurt me."

She reached a hand out towards it. As soon as one of the tips of her fingers touched it, it moved quickly to the side, about six inches. Nicole flinched but stood where she was, letting her hand fall back to her side.

"An orb: a high residual energy of a spirit that once lived." She kept staring at the ball as it started humming sonically. Nicole started reciting the Lord's Prayer, like many times she wanted to whenever she encountered a ghost.

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters." The orb started to spin slowly and then wildly. "He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Yea, I walk through the valley of the shadow of the dead, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me--" The orb rose into the air and Nicole started crying with fear. The humming became louder and louder until her ears couldn't take it. She had to shout to hear herself." "--thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me! Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies! Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over! AIE!"

Nicole was blinded by a flash of light and covered her eyes to protect herself. She fell backwards by the light and fell to the ground. The light held for five full and long minutes and disappeared as quickly as it came. She removed her arm from her face and opened her eyes, only to get a blurred vision. Colored shadows were appearing before her in this blue room and heard them chatter amongst themselves. She couldn't understand a single word they said. It was mixed with high pitches that could come from a broken baby monitor and electronic rasping and gurgling. The girl rubbed her eyes several times to try and see what they were. Her vision cleared up slightly and thought she might've passed out and was dreaming.

These things weren't at all organic and were looking at her as if she were some sort of animal. A blue figure (he looked like a jock by the size of that chest plate) to her left shouted up at another, who was sitting in a chair. Nicole's vision was all clear now and noticed the room. It had high steps that would lead to a platform and seemed like a meeting room Queen Amidala would use. The one in the highest platform shouted back to the blue robot and kept bickering against each other. Nicole ignored them and looked around at the others in different platforms. They stared back at her and whispered to each other, some even pointed. This made the girl feel way too uncomfortable and wished she knew where in the world she was.

The two robots finished their conversation and the blue looked back at her with a snarl in his look. Nicole tried to be brave and shoot back her own glare. The metal man wasn't the least bit intimidated and shouted an order to her. Nicole titled her head and raised an eyebrow to show she didn't understand. The blue robot groaned, walked forward towards her, grabbed her, and spun her around. Nicole felt a slight shock through her body as something snapped on her wrists. She looked behind her back to see what it was and noticed that they were sliver and blue handcuffs. Why the heck was she being arrested? What did she do?

A different robot, a red one with a blue sort of helmet with antennas and a grey face mask, walked up to him and spoke calmly, making Nicole feel better about this. The blue groaned and let go of Nicole, removing the cuffs as well. The red slowly strolled up to Nicole so he wouldn't frighten her. He pointed to himself and uttered something. Nicole couldn't follow this entirely, so he did it again.

The girl finally knew what he was doing. She had seen this gesture millions of times in movies. She even noticed that, no matter what language, you always say someone name the same way. Amanda is still Amanda in Russia, Sayid is still Sayid in America. The robot was giving his name and it sounded like "Optimus".

"Nicole," the girl said, making the same move. Optimus smiled and held out a hand. She decided he was going to be a nice escort (nicer than the blue one) and take her somewhere. After a few long hallways and a couple of stares and whispers of what seemed to be gossip, Optimus finally had her in a room filled with all kinds of instruments that could be fitted at a surgeon's.

"I don't like this," she muttered to herself. Another red robot, but not as strong-looking as Optimus, walked up to him in a greeting and shook his hand as he let go of her. The 'bot motioned to Nicole and she knew he was asking "And who is this?" You didn't have to be a psychic to know any of this crap.

Optimus answered and she heard her name being in the sentence. The other red robot held out his hand towards the girl and she decided to smile and shake to be nice. He did exactly what Optimus did and pointed to himself, and said "Perceptor" twice.

"Nice to meet you," Nicole said, not eve caring if he understood her. She kept thinking to herself as Optimus and Perceptor talked amongst each other. There had to be a reason why she was here. No one would abduct a child without reason. "Abduct" seemed to be the word commonly used in alien movies and stuck to the thought that she wasn't on Earth anymore, though it was hard to believe; she was there just minutes ago. In those alien abduction movies she saw, the reason the space foreigners took hole of humans was to study them. Was that the reason why she was here? For probing? They needed a human subject to further advance their research for either learning or…she didn't want t think of it, but, to invade Earth.

Going into a panic attack, Nicole ran towards the door. Optimus caught her before she had a chance and pulled her to his chest.

"Get your greasy hands, or whatever it is the hell you call them, off of me!" she shouted. "I wanna go home! I've got ninth grade orientation in two days!"

The girl struggled to be let go, but Optimus only did so to have Perceptor grab her and pin her down to a table. Metal straps clicked together and Nicole used whatever strength she had to pry loose. Each time she wiggled, the straps became tighter so that there would be no chance. Before circulation was cut from her hands, she stopped struggling and laid on the table, breathing hard. Perceptor looked down at her, and she looked back at him with an angry, wide-eyed look.

"Go to Hell, fool," she said. Perceptor only found this amusing and chuckled. He put a hand on her head, then looked where his hand was. He moved it slowly through the strands and down to her ponytail. He pulled it straight out and held it in his hand.

"Give it back!" Nicole shouted. She never liked it when people had pulled her hair-tie out. She didn't know why she didn't like it, she just didn't. Perceptor looked at the green scrunchie then held it to where his nose seemed to be. Nicole heard a loud inhale and knew he was sniffing it.

"Perverted freak!" she said, moving around in her spot. The red 'bot ignored her and kept smelling it. A smile went across his face and Nicole became from enraged to insanely furious.

"Gimme back the hair-tie!" she screamed, hitting a high note. She never meant for her voice to get that high, but it did, making Perceptor's audio system screech inside his head and stop sniffing the band. Nicole smiled to herself and thought that she could use her voice to hurt him and make him release her.

To test how high her voice had to be, she started at an A and climbed up the octave to the next A. She reached a little higher to a B and Perceptor threw down the hair-tie and covered up his ears. Optimus was doing the same thing, but moving towards Nicole. The girl took another breath and screamed that B another time. She was too busy looking at Perceptor fall to the floor to see Optimus come over and mask a hand over her mouth. A muffled note held for two seconds and finally stopped. She looked at him with her wide green-blue eyes and tried to make them say "I'm sorry". Optimus seemed to forgive her and motioned it by nodding his head. He looked back at Perceptor as the red robot attempted to stand up. His right side that faced Nicole was oozing a small bit of purple liquid. Nicole gasped to realize she just made his ear bleed.

"Holy…to the crap…" she breathed. She never hurt anybody in her life like this. Nicole was fine with causing a bruise, but a bleeding ear? "Look, I…" She trailed off, knowing whatever she said, they wouldn't be able to hear it. Perceptor walked clumsily over to the table, still knocked out from Nicole's screeching, and took a clear bottle of liquid and poured it onto a small white cloth. The girl snuck a peek at the label of the bottle and gasped again.

"Please, I won't do it again!" she said.

Optimus spoke to Perceptor. She played "teen psychic" again and knew what their sentences were. "Do you think she knows what it is?" and Perceptor "She must if she's acting this way."

"Come on, I'll be good!"

"She's begging for mercy" had to be the next sentence. She could tell because Optimus gave a single laugh and looked down at the girl. Nicole took in a deep breath after realizing that she didn't finish her prayer, but would like to finish it before Perceptor covered her nose with a cloth soaked in chloroform.

"Surely goodness and the mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." Perceptor placed the cloth over her nose gently. The sweet smell was in her system and Nicole knew from somewhere that six inhalations would cause someone to faint and forget what happened to them. Three more and she would be out; she needed to finish this prayer first. "And I will…dwell in the house of…the Lord…for…ever…"

Clear, to blurred, to faint light, to a black surrounding was her vision stages. She knew no more.

xXx

Brianna: Okay, for people who feel like saying "They're supposed to be two stories taller than Nicole", I'll tell you this; first off, what kind of real fun would it be to have ALL of them bigger than her? And second, they DID need a human to advance their learning, but they needed a bigger size to have accurate studies. So Nicole actually grew taller while teleporting to Cybertron. It will be explained later, but I just needed to get that out of the way.

Reviews are much appreciated!


	3. Moving Day

Chapter IV

Nicole woke up, feeling like she was run over by a fire truck. _Did _she get run over? Her head pounded enough to say that it was a possibility that she was. Her head held a taiko drum, keeping a steady and slow beat. She moved a bit to try and get up, but she was still strapped to that table. She wished she could give those robots some logic about humans; like the fact that if they stay in a single position too long, their bones will ache. That's why everyone tosses and turns in their sleep.

She lifted her head up slightly only to get the biggest and most infuriating disappointment of her life. _Perceptor had stripped her naked._

"I'm gonna kill him. I _swear _I'm gonna kill 'im," she muttered. "Please, God, tell me he didn't rape me."

The door to her right hissed and slid open, letting Perceptor inside his lab. He smiled straight at her, but Nicole stuck his tongue out at him in the rudest way possible. The grin turned into a frown and he walked over sluggishly over to his data-filled computer. Nicole struggled in her spot to tell him she wanted out, but he didn't respond. After a few minutes of being ignored, Nicole shouted to him.

"Hey!" she screamed. Nicole gave a single shrill whistle and kept yelling at him, but with a Jersey accent to her next sentence. "I'm talkin' ta you! Whatever you wanted, you got it, now let me out!"

"Not possible."

"Get me outta this thing or I'll-Hold up. Did-Did you jus--?"

"Yes. By extracting data from your processor, or brain, I gathered few shards of information about Earth. And was even able to process your language into my own central processor unit. I must say, humans are so simple to hack," Perceptor explained. Nicole was so close to dozing off when he spoke. It was sort of monotonous and the same way you'd expect a robot to speak.

"And why did you just strip me like a banana?" she shot.

"For human anatomy data."

She didn't need anymore information about that. The question she dared not ask was "Was it fun?" but she couldn't even keep a straight face when she said it, let alone thought it. Perceptor glanced at the computer screen and snickered.

"If you are curious, I did not," he said. "It was primarily for informational motives."

"Sure it was…" she grunted. "Ya mind letting me go? I'd like to have my clothes back."

"They are being washed of your human…" He trailed off, trying to think of a way to make it sound polite.

"Germs?" Nicole answered for him.

"Yes, germs. It is precautionary."

"Fine, whatever." She laid down, looking out the high window to her right. It was a starry sky, tops of buildings shown at the bottom of the frame.

"By the way, we re-engineered your body so it may survive our atmosphere.," Perceptor interrupted my thoughts. "We were not able to change your eating habits, due to informal reasons."

"Obviously."

"I must say, your vocabulary is impressive to me."

"Because I'm a smart, fourteen-year old blonde. You don't hear that much on Earth, so don't get used to it."

Perceptor gave a snicker and looked back at Nicole. She couldn't tell if that was a sexy smirk or a friendly smile. Especially since he's the guy who stripped her. What else did they do to her?

"May I ask you a favor?" she said, remembering how not to say "can".

"Yes, you may."

"If someone comes by, can you cover me up? I don't feel comfortable flashing my bare body at other people, robotic or not."

"Of course." His smile changed from unreadable to apologetic. Nicole crossed her eyes to make him laugh and it worked. The laugh Perceptor had wasn't too bad. It definitely had some happiness in it. He looked like a chibi character that one of Nicole's friends used to draw.

A knock at the door came and the girl flinched.

"Cover me!" she said. Perceptor walked over, grabbing a white sheet on a table and letting it settle over across her entire, nude body. She heard the door hiss open and the newcomer and Perceptor talk to each other. Since Nicole couldn't see them, she couldn't tell what they might be talking about. Communications was mostly filled with body language; movement made things easier to understand.

Perceptor and the newcomer walked over to his computer. She heard a few clicks and snips, then a flip of the switch. Electricity crackled as it surged through the unknown 'bot's body and stopped after three short seconds. Perceptor said something in his language, then spoke to Nicole.

"Is it okay if your face is shown?" he said.

"Yeah, it's fine." There was no way she was going to say "cool" to a scientist. Telling an alien about American slang could take a while. He removed part of the covers so they revealed down to the bottom of her neck. She smiled up at the other robot, Optimus.

"Hi," she said, trying to sound acceptable.

"Good morning, Nicole," he said. The lower part of his eyes turned to indicate a smile hidden behind his face mask.

"Let me guess, you got the name from the data Perceptor snatched out of me?"

"That, and he told me before I even walked in."

"Oh. Well, don't I feel stupid."

He gave a hearty laugh and continued on. "I need to tell you that, when you are able to roam, you can't go outside of this building."

"Ex_cuse _me?!"

"I said--"

"I know what you said!"

"Do not talk to Optimus Prime that way," Perceptor butted in. "He is the leader of the Autobots."

"Auto-who?"

"Autobots. I will give you our history later." He nodded to Optimus for him to continue. The red robot nodded back and looked back at Nicole.

"We have set up a room for you down the hall. We hope that it is to your liking," he said. "We will give you the rest of the tour later. Right now--" He walked over to a cardboard box (that Perceptor explained they got from Earth) and took out some clothes. "--you might need these."

Nicole's mouth dropped as she recognized the clothes. "You guys raided my closet?!" It was more excitable than angry.

"We figured you needed some things that would make you comfortable here. We transported your personals here to Cybertron."

"Which means the room I got is my actual room?"

"Yes."

"_Cool_! I mean, _thank_ you, Optimus Prime."

"You're welcome," he answered, ignoring the slang. He walked out of the room, leaving Perceptor to remove the covers and let Nicole out of the straps to show how tight those actually were. Red rings were around her wrists and Perceptor delicately grabbed her hands to look at them.

"I'm okay, really. I doesn't hurt," she assured him.

"There's hardly any blood in your hands," he answered, kind of worried.

"Circulation. It'll come back in a few heartbeats."

He looked at me, almost surprisingly.

"Didn't see that on your little screen, now, did ya?" she said playfully.

"Not everything shows up on our database," he said, defending his right as a scientist. The girl shyly walked over to the cardboard box, wondering if Perceptor was checking out any part of her "anatomy", and grabbed her undergarments, put them on, then her best looking clothes to show herself off. Something like a purple kimono-like shirt with crazy designs and dark blue, boot cut, jean pants. She found a pair of thick, high heeled (more like an inch) black boots inside the box and slipped them on, not even caring to reach for the socks. It hurt trying to get most of it on since she still had the sunburn. Wait, the sunburn used to be worse than this.

"How long was I asleep?" she asked.

"About nine hours," the scientist answered.

"How come my sunburn's almost gone?"

"I did some study. The burned skin interfered with skin study and I was able to heal it more quickly."

"What did you use?"

"Something called milk. The fat soothes the burn. Put it on for twenty minutes, then rinse it. Repeat every two or four hours."

"Great! Where'd you learn this?"

"From that place you call Internet. It's pretty fascinating."

Nicole remembered a couple of things that were on the Internet and said "If you want to know about human nature, come to me. Some of the stuff on there is inappropriate."

"I know. I've read your thoughts."

The human girl gasped. _All _of her thoughts?

"Do you know about James Whither from my school?" she asked, scared to know the answer.

"What about James Whither?"

"Then never mind." That was a relief! Nicole always had a crush on him since fifth grade and couldn't let it go. She knew he was one of those guys who kept a reputation, but she still liked how he looked.

Perceptor threw her hair-tie at her, she caught it, and twisted it back into her hair.

"You sure you're done sniffing it?" she snapped.

"Yes, I am finished," he replied simply. Obviously he didn't look deep enough into her mind to know what sarcasm was. Nicole shrugged with a slight "hmph" as she flipped her hair to get it out of her face. She straightened out her shirt and patted the front of her jeans. Nicole held a pose, arms out and smiling, and asked Perceptor what he thought.

"Well?" she said after a long pause. He looked up and down her body to give an honest opinion.

"Worth millions of words," he said.

"Aww, you're so sweet," she said to sound a teeny bit flirty. He smiled again and opened up the electronic door for her.

As they walked down the hallway, anyone that had passed by looked at Nicole, and the girl kept wondering if they were noticing how pretty she was or if it was just because she was human. There were a few whispers, of course, and not in the language she knew. It was like being in Orlando all over again; couldn't understand a thing most of the people were saying.

They finally reached Nicole's new room, but it didn't at _all _look new. All of her things; shoes, games, the bed, '95 computer, books on the shelves, jewelry in the dresser, bathing suits folded with them, even her skates; they were all there. The only difference was that, when she left, her room was dirty, but this was absolutely clean.

"God in Heaven!" she sighed.

"Do you like it?" Perceptor asked.

"Love it! Everything's in place!" She looked up at the ceiling. "Even the glow-in-the-dark stickers are up there!" Those stickers were pretty important to her. Her grandfather put them up there, along with glow-in-the-dark paint, and arranged them to look like the night sky. "How'd you do it?!"

"Simple. By using your memory to put everything in its place. Of course we had to use memories of when the room was clean. Honestly, you're a…what's the word?"

"Slob?"

"Yes! That's it."

"Most slobs are geniuses you know. Albert Einstein couldn't even tie his own shoes!"

"Who?"

"He was one of the greatest scientists known to man. That's as far as I'm going."

"Oh." Perceptor stopped for a bit to change the subject. "If you get hungry, ask me and I'll show you where we keep your food. Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

Perceptor nodded and left Nicole to be with her things. She looked for her MP3 player and plugged the headphones to her ears.

"Y'all just steal everything, don't you?" she muttered. She turned the music on to _Feels Like Home _just to make herself cry.

xXx

Brianna: Robots are so neat, huh? Well, next chapter is where the fun starts. And yes, Nicole did cry.

Nicole: Hey!

Brianna: Well, you're part of me! Heck, your first name is my middle name, for God's sake! I cry to that song, too!

**Reviews are most welcome! Constructive criticism or complimentary. Don't hurt my feelings. ;P**


	4. Jytter

"This is the fun part, sweetheart." -Dusty [movie: Tornado]

* * *

Chapter IV

According to Perceptor, she had been there for at least a month. Nicole complained about not going to her school orientation and threatened that if she missed the first day of school, she would beat whoever was responsible for sending her here. Although, no one admitted who it was. Nicole learned from somewhere that now, with the new information they received from her, they were teaching it in their schools. Some of them were even eager to learn her language. Nicole whined about not being able to learn Cybertronian since it was filled with sounds a human tongue couldn't possibly produce.

For the whole time she was kept under quarantine, she stared out her bedroom window at all the other robots playing, talking, having fun. Very quickly, it was noticeable that Cybertronians weren't that different from humans in nature. They laughed, they had emotions, they loved, they had families (so it goes), they were human in every way. But Nicole couldn't even go outside once. She was cooped up inside that house, listening to her MP3 player. When she spotted a couple that looked like they were dating, she played the song _I Don't Wanna Be In Love_. A bit later, both of them noticed Nicole looking straight at them and moved to another spot.

_Oh, it's one of those people_, she thought. Perceptor said that her being here wouldn't change how some felt towards organics. Especially Sentinel (the rude blue dude she first met), who had a great fear.

"_That _guy?" she asked. "What the heck is he afraid of?"

"He said they were black, eight legs, shot out a sticky rope, and they were this big." Perceptor moved his hand just above his waist.

"That's a big ass spider," Nicole mumbled.

"Is that what it's called?"

The girl nodded and waited for her caretaker to leave the room. She went back to staring out the window.

* * *

He was just hanging out with his friends, talking normal stuff like who's got the best paint job and who can choke down the most energon in five cycles. Jytter thought these games were just a bit silly, but they were kind of fun! Gunsalt, one of his friends, beat Ironhide in a contest with that energon. And Red Mark, a gal pal, was _the _best choice for that paint job, no contest.

"Hey, Jytter, how come you don't play these?" Gunsalt asked him.

"Well, I just don't think it's me," he said, scratching his head.

"Then how about a dare?" Red Mark suggested. Se looked around as if the dare was somewhere in sight. And it was. "How about her?"

Jytter and Gunsalt looked to see what she was pointing at.

"No way!" Gunsalt said in Jytter's defense. "Pulling a prank might be better!"

"Aw, come on, just talk to her!" Red Mark pleaded. Jytter looked away from her and back at the girl in the window. It was the same human female he had heard about, and the one where he learned a new language. (He sometimes used that language to curse and they wouldn't know what he was talking about.) She looked kind of sad; her arm holding up her head, elbow on the window sill. How long had she been in there?

"I'll do it," he said. Gunsalt slapped his head and Red Mark giggled.

"Here's the dare. Get her out of that place and spend the whole auto-cycle with her. Or until she has to get back. Make sure no one notices her missing."

Jytter nodded. He never been on a dare, but he figured this was a good way to start having fun. Who knows? Maybe she's friendly.

* * *

Nicole saw something in the corner of her eye walking towards the window, but she didn't want to look. She had enough of robots coming over to look at her as if she were a caged animal. Oh, the irony! But, still, the orange robot came up to her and tapped on the glass. Nicole closed her eyes to tell him she was ignoring him and turned up the volume. The orange 'bot moved to the side to get her sight and smiled. Nicole gave a fake smiled and turned her head the other way, the 'bot following.

Sighing, Nicole turned off her MP3 and stared at him, her eyes saying "Go away" and her lips saying "Do you _really _wanna mess with me?"

"Wanna get outta here?" he said through the glass. Nicole's head shot up a couple of inches and looked at him surprisingly. He knew her language and he even knew that lame pick-up line. Nicole clicked the lock on the window and slid it open form the bottom. The screen was the only thing blocking her from getting out that way.

"What's your name?" she said, being more polite.

"I'm Jytter," he said.

"I'm Nicole."

"Wanna leave?"

The girl looked behind her to see if Perceptor might have snuck in. She looked back at Jytter. "Wait at the front. I'll sneak by."

"You sure you can do that?"

"I have a light step."

Jytter's smile became bigger and he raced over to the front. Nicole closed her window and walked over to her door, praying that Perceptor didn't lock it. Thank the Lord he didn't, so she opened it as quietly as she could. She looked both ways before getting out and pretended to play the _Mission Impossible _theme in her head. The girl went on tip-toe to get by and made it to the meeting room. Back over to the right was the entrance/exit. There, she saw Jytter, arms crossed and waiting patiently for her to come out. Nicole had noticed the two robots standing to the other side of the meeting hall, but with their backs turned to her. She played a joke and walked casually and playfully by them. To add to it, Nicole did some spins and dance affects to make Jytter laugh. She knew it worked once Jytter opened the door and heard him laugh really hard.

"They have the IQ of a shoebox," he said, letting her understand.

"Man, I could've gone out weeks ago if I had known this would happen."

"But you would've been alone, and I could never imagine all the looks you'd get."

Nicole shrugged. "Eh, I'm used to being weird. It's just the surroundings I can't handle. I mean, this whole planet's nothing but metal!"

"It gets boring pretty fast, trust me. But I like the pictures I saw of Earth. Those were just amazing!" he sighed.

"Yeah…Well, you got me out, what do you want?"

In that same old Cybertronian language, someone called Jytter's name and looked to see a red girl and a green boy run up to him. They talked to him and Jytter motioned to me once.

"Nicole, this is Gunsalt and Red Mark," he said, giving introductions. Nicole waved a hand to say hi and they did the same. Red Mark asked a question and Jytter interpreted.

"Is it true that humans can't survive in water?" he said, almost giggling.

"No, we're not created to inhale H2O. We're not fishes."

Jytter turned his head to Red Mark to give her the answer. To Nicole, this felt like a movie. She even had her own interpreter; how cool is _that_!

Red Mark's shoulders slumped and she felt stupid not knowing this information. She didn't like doing school work or even doing extra work. But, she got over it and tried to talk to Nicole again. The human girl looked at Jytter for the words.

"She wants to know if I told you about the dare."

"What dare?" Nicole didn't like this.

"I was put on a dare to spend the rest of the day with you."

"Is that the only reason?" Nicole's eyebrow raised and her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Well, I didn't mind going on it."

"MEN!" Nicole shouted to the sky.

"_Is she upset?_" Red Mark asked in her native language.

"_I don't know. What do _you _think? A girl throwing her servos up in anger, what's the reason?_" Jytter snapped. He turned to Nicole and grabbed her arms so she could stay still. "Hey, I _wanted _to go on this dare. I could've turned around and left! But I'm here, right? I wanna sped the day with you, I really do!"

Nicole stared at the orange mech for a while then turned to his friends. Gunsalt flinched and tried to get behind Red Mark for protection. The femme turned to the side and smacked the green 'bot on the back of the head. Nicole didn't smile and looked back at Jytter.

"Fine," she groaned.

"I'm sorry," he added.

"You're forgiven."

"Oh, thank you." He out his arms around her for a hug. "I don't like it when a girl's mad at me."

Nicole's mind kept thinking _Oh, he's so cute like this!_ but she didn't dare say anything at all. Against the mech's chest, she could hear his spark beat. The girl felt his arms wrapping tighter around her.

"You're so warm and soft!" he cried.

"Any tighter and I'll puke!" Nicole gasped. Jytter took his hands off and moved a step back.

"Sorry, you just…Well, to put it this way, you feel like a pillow to me," he said shyly.

"Soft and fragile, remember the fragile part."

"I'll try." He leaned over to give her another hug. This time he was more careful and this felt like any other guy hug. Nicole sighed and put her own arms around him.

"You're freezing, you know that?" she said. Jytter's chest moved to point out that he was laughing. He gave her a small kiss on the side of her head and looked at her face.

"I know," he said. He was about to say something further, but Nicole made a sound that stopped him.

"What's that?" she said. Her nose kept going up and down as she sniffed the air like a dog. Jytter looked at her, confused at her motions.

"What's what?" he said.

"You don't smell that?"

"I heard that humans have a more sensitive senses than us, so, no, I don't smell it."

Nicole sighed. She truly _was _the animal on this planet. "Well, it smells like…Mmm, baked bread…and spaghetti…Where the heck is this coming from, it's making me hungry!" She moved away from her position and followed her nose to the scent. Jytter followed behind as she lead them to a nearby building next to the one she was kept under. She remembered Perceptor telling her that they made her food here on Cybertron, and the girl was just amazed they even knew how to make it! But no one could make fudge as well as her grandmother, _no _one.

"What the heck is this?" Jytter asked when he saw the factory through a window. Nicole saw foods lined up in their own order and some being made on tables. The orange 'bot looked at her to see the girl licking her lips.

"You're hungry, aren't you?" he said in a playful manner.

"Totally! I tried to tell Perceptor that humans eat tree times a day, but he only gives me breakfast and dinner. No lunch! He must've been looking at the old history books we had on Earth."

"You mean when lunch didn't even exist? It was just a snack?"

"That's the one." She paused for a second and saw an open hatch next to her. "I'm going in."

"Wait!" Jytter grabbed her by the ankle as she climbed up. Nicole looked down at him to wait for what he was going to say. "We can't just sneak in there!"

"You can't; but I'm hungry enough, so I'm going. I'm getting some ravioli, some grapes, a garlic bread, and a good ol' American Coca Cola!" Before Jytter could stop her again, she climbed up to the hatch like she was rock climbing and slipped through the hatch. She thanked God that it wasn't vertical and followed her nose through the vents and right over a basket of bread rolls. Lord, those smelled good! Cybertron had good cooks!

Nicole slipped her hand through the bottom of the vent and reached for the bread roll. In the corner of the open hatch, she saw one of the cooks turn around and put another batch of bread rolls in the large basket. She moved her hand fast enough so she wouldn't get caught. The 'bot turned back around and Nicole tried again. She quickly grabbed the bread roll and brought it up to her eyes.

"Perfection!" she whispered to herself. She took a bite out of the roll and finished the rest in two minutes. She wanted to savor that taste.

The girl stuck her head out and looked to the side. A refrigerator was shown and she quietly climbed out the side. She landed like Catwoman on the hard grey floor and snuck by towards the white machine. She looked towards the side windows to right and saw Jytter waving his arms at her and motioning one arm in a circle. The he pointed to something behind her. Nicole did as she was told and looked. Right there, several meters away and on a leash, was a sleeping, large, brown dog, organic dog, the one that looked like…Wait.

"Spike?" she whispered. The dog moved its ears and lifted its head to see who called his name. It looked directly at Nicole, wagged his tail, and started barking. Nicole kept trying to shush him, but it was no use. She open the refrigerator door and found a piece of turkey meat. She snatched it, threw it at the dog, and watched as he chewed hungrily at it. Once he was done, he looked back at Nicole for more.

"They don't feed you either, huh?" she sighed. She went back to the 'fridge and found some more slices of turkey. She gave some to Spike and kept a slice for herself. Keeping that slice, she walked back to the bread and found a loaf that was already cut for her. She grabbed two pieces and stuck the turkey between it. She took the biggest bite she could manage and choked it down.

"God, this good!" she said, too loudly. Two of the Cybertronian cooks turned to see her. They shouted to her in their electronic language and the girl quickly zipped towards the front, running into foods and grabbing whatever she could. Jytter was already at the front door and opened it up for her to escape.

"RUN FOR YOUR EVER LOVIN' LIFE!" she screamed. Jytter looked to see why she was running and took off behind her, laughing his head off. A few minutes of running and Nicole finally settled on the ground. She knew it was safe to put her food down since they always kept this place so clean all the time; and there was probably no such thing as germs on the bottom of a robot's foot.

"You're a fast runner," Jytter said, gasping for breath. "You ever try out for track?"

"No, but I went into swimming if that counts."

"I thought you said humans can't survive in water."

"They can't _breathe _underwater. We can swim if we hold our breath, but the air inside goes bad and you could drown if you can't get back to the surface."

"That bites."

"Tell me 'bout it…" She took a bite of an apple.

"So what was that thing? The creature you fed?"

"Who, Spike? He's a dog. He was a dog in my neighborhood. Sometimes he would escape and I would bring him back to his owners. I need to tell those cooks that dogs get fed at least once a day, because when I saw him, he was skinnier than I remember." She took another bite.

"You talk as if it's your own species."

"You talk to _me _like I'm your species." Nicole couldn't help but smile and take another bite as she said that. Jytter felt stupid and laughed at his own remark. "So, is there anything of interest around here, or is everything boring?"

"If you want, you can check out the arena. Sometimes we have guys fight there for fun or for energon chips; money. Speaking of, I should've been there an hour ago!"

"Then let's get it in gear, Grandma!" Nicole said as she got up.

"Do you need those?" Jytter said, pointing to the small pile of food. "I'll store it if you'd like."

"How the hell do you do _that_?!" Nicole shouted, thinking it was utterly impossible. Jytter held out a hand towards the food and _whoosh _it was gone.

"Sub-space. Like a super-pocket," he said. He grabbed Nicole's hand. "Come on, let's go!" He ran with her, faster than her feet could carry.

"Ow, ow! That hurts!…Are you even listening to me? Whoa! We almost ran over that guy! Hey! SLOW DOWN!"

xXx

Brianna: I seriously was typing the food sequence while I was hungry...Had to get a turkey sandwhich to shut my stomach up. =D So, to answer some questions, Jytter, Gunsalt, and Red Mark are just Transformers I made on the spot. And, yes, we do get to see (read) a fight. (I said _a_ fight, not who was fighting. O.O)

I NEED REVIEWS HERE, PEOPLE! Do I have to ask questions? Come on! What do you think of Nicole, was she brave or stupid? Do you hate that they keep her in the base? Is Jytter a cool guy or not? Give me someting!


	5. Coliseum

Chapter V

Five minutes of running and Nicole was about to faint. She never ran so much in her life, let alone with a robot dragging her along. For the next five minutes, Jytter offered for her to ride piggy-back, and she didn't hesitate to say yes. He held a good grip on her legs as he ran, and Nicole practically fell asleep as he ran; he could run as smooth as silk.

"Hey, Nicole, wake up," he whispered, nudging her a bit. Nicole lifted up her head and tried to peek through her tired eyes. They were at the entrance to the empty arena and there was someone a little older than Jytter and a couple of inches taller, too.

"Don't let him intimidate you," Jytter said. "That's just what he wants." He put his arms out to let Nicole slide off his back. "His name is Ironhide. If you need to talk to him, he knows English, so you don't need me."

"I better be careful of what I say to him, huh?" Nicole whimpered. Ironhide was kind of bulky and seemed like someone you wouldn't want to meet in the dark. Unless, of course, you were his girlfriend.

"Hey, Ironhide," Jytter said as they walked up to him.

"You're late, short stack," Ironhide grunted. He had his arms crossed, his chest out to look tougher than he was or is, and his eyes looked pretty angry, like a mad bull. "Looks like you brought a friend." He looked straight at Nicole. The girl was so scared she was afraid she would piss her pants.

"This is Nicole. Nicole, Ironhide," Jytter said.

"Ain't she the one who's supposed to be locked up?" Ironhide said with suspicions. "I could report this, ya know."

"No! I mean…" Jytter tried to think. "You should've seen her, locked in that room. Slag, they hardly feed her the right amount!"

"Izzat so?" Ironhide kept looking at Nicole. The human shivered and moved an inch behind Jytter.

"Please, just let me give you the money I owe and we'll be gone. I promise," Jytter said shakily. It was obvious that he was scared of Nicole being taken away.

"Tell you what, Jytter; don't pay me right now. We'll fight for this; mech ta mech. I win, I get double the money and I report a missing human. You win, you run off with what you were gonna pay me times two _and _keep the human. I won't tell no one. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Spit shake on it," Nicole said, almost forcefully.

"Excuse me, miss?" Ironhide said.

"Spit shake. Hawk it up, spit in your hand, both of you, then shake with that hand."

"That's disgusting!" Jytter moaned.

"That's life, now spit shake!"

Ironhide and Jytter looked at each other for a time and agreed to it. At the same time, they spit in their hands, and, with a squishing sound, shook each other's hands.

"Your girlfriend's nasty," Ironhide mumbled.

"She's not my girlfriend," Jytter grunted. Ironhide snickered and opened the door for all three of them to walk in. Jytter pointed to where Nicole needed to go to watch, and she obeyed. She ran up a flight of steps and made it to the first row. The way the seats were arranged looked like the Roman Coliseum, but smaller. Jytter and Ironhide took their places on either side of the battlefield and waited for the bell to ring. It wasn't like a boxing bell, it more of a gong with a bit more bass to it.

The two sprang out each other so fast that Nicole blinked and missed it. They held on to each others shoulders, one trying to flip the other. Getting into the spirit (and not wanting to be put under quarantine again), Nicole shouted at Jytter.

"Come on, boy! Flip him like a Krabby Patty! He ain't got nothin'. You hear me? No _thin_'!"

Feeling a bit more powerful with Nicole's shouts, he shifted his shoulders so he was able to bring Ironhide to the right and flip over onto his stomach (tank, whatever). Jytter climbed on top to pin him down. But The red mech was too strong for him and flipped him over his head and onto his back.

"GET HIM, JYTTER BUG!" Nicole shouted. The orange 'bot felt some more power and rolled to the side before Ironhide had a chance to punch him. Jytter rolled back into place and used his legs to push him back. Ironhide was forced onto his back and Jytter jumped on him again before Ironhide had a chance to do anything. Nicole counted down the seconds.

"Three, two, one, he's _fried_!" she shouted. Jytter smirked and stood up. He held out hand and Ironhide accepted it to help get up.

"Good fight," Jytter said to be a good sport.

"A _short_ fight," Ironhide muttered. From sub-space, he gave Jytter the money owed. Jytter said thanks and walked towards the exit to meet up with Nicole.

"That was so cool!" she screamed, giving him a hug.

"Yeah…" Jytter sighed. Nicole let go and looked at him. His optics were small and his body looked a little pale.

"You okay?" she said.

"I don't…feel so good…"

Right then and there, Jytter passed out. He fell over to the side and Nicole cried to Ironhide. "Ironhide, get over here!" The red mech dashed over to see a sleeping Jytter.

"Is he okay?"

"I think he passed out. He doesn't look so hot."

"Ah, stupid Jytter," Ironhide groaned. "If I know him, he hasn't eaten in auto-cycles. Too busy trying to get enough money for his own being."

"You mean…he's poor?" Nicole said, almost shocked.

"That's what I'm sayin'. Usually folks come by the arena to get some extra money. Well, poor Jytter here been comin' a lot to get the money he needs. The arena doesn't pay enough for him, so he comes often. Since he hasn't eaten, and he just fought, he got knocked out."

"Oh…" Nicole groaned. She didn't want to feel sympathy for him just because he was poor and then keep the feeling each time she saw him. As far as she knew, Jytter was a great guy. He was funny, charming, and very huggable. Someone that great shouldn't be put out like this. Then again, wasn't this how it also was on Earth?

"Hey, Ironhide, can you take me and Jytter back to the base?" she asked. "I'll see if Perceptor can patch him up there."

"Aren't you gonna get in trouble for being with him?"

She realized that the tone in his voice meant that Jytter was part thief, and stole what he needed. If he was seen with her, he could be banned from Iacon. But surely Nicole could pull a few strings.

"Yeah, I would," she said simply. "I just want him to get better."

"Suit yourself, it's your aft," he mumbled, not bothering to give the human term. He picked up Jytter into his arms and walked with Nicole back to the base.

* * *

The look on Perceptor's face wasn't too great when Nicole and Ironhide walked in with Jytter. Few bursts of steams came from his head and Nicole swore she saw a red aura around him.

"What were you thinking?! Running away like that to hang out with the likes of this _mud flap_!" he shouted.

"Perceptor, I just want him fixed up."

"Absolutely not!"

"He hasn't eaten in days, he lives by himself on the streets--"

"I don't care! He took you away when we were specific to everyone in Iacon that no one was to communicate with you!"

"Jytter's my friend, you piece of scrap heap!" Normally Nicole wouldn't get this angry or act so rude towards her elders, but this guy was getting on her last nerves.

"Don't ever speak to me that way again! Go back to your room!"

"I'm staying with Jytter," Nicole said, menacingly. Perceptor and the girl exchanged glares at each other. Ironhide finally spoke to break the tension.

"If it's any consolation, he never harmed her," he said. "He was doing what he can and believed that she needed ta get out and not be so cooped up in here."

"I assure you, she was--"

"Miserable out of my life!" Nicole interrupted. "This was supposed to be my summer vacation before I hit high school, and it's filled with nothing but staying inside the house like I'm some kind of frigging hermit!" She looked at Jytter, asleep in Ironhide's arms. "He knew how I felt when he saw me and he wanted to help me. He cares, Perceptor. He really does!…And don't you think it would be great to actually see me smile once in a while? I haven't laughed since the last day of school…three months ago."

Perceptor was spark-broken. He had no idea how keeping her in her room had affected her being. He thought that seeing her in there would help with the research, but he was all wrong. The only bit of information what he received was what some humans would do in their spare time, not what they _could _be doing out in the world. He sighed and figured that, even though Jytter was a small thief in the universe, he would be an exception.

"All right," he said. He turned to Ironhide. "Bring him into the girl's room, she'll show you where it's at. I'll be by with some energon so he can have something when he wakes up."

"Oh, thank you, Perceptor!" Nicole said, running up to hug him. Perceptor thought this was a strange motion, but Nicole always thought of him as a father somehow. "You don't know how much this means to me."

"Just get him in your room, let him rest."

"Okay. Ironhide, over here!" The red mech followed behind her to get to her room. She opened up the door and the 'bot laid the sleeping mech down on her bed.

"He might be out for a few hours," he said.

"It's fine," she said, a smiling forming on her face. "Thanks for hauling him over."

"No problem," Ironhide said, smiling. Nicole reached out her arms to hug him, and he accepted it. A few seconds and they let go. Ironhide said good-bye and left Nicole to be alone with Jytter. She sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the orange 'bot.

"You are so stupid," she muttered. "You risked your money to try and keep me a secret. Well, doesn't do much when you faint like that."

Jytter was still. Nicole felt like she was talking mostly to herself and felt foolish herself. Once she had a good look at the part thief, he looked so mature when he was sleeping. His face was calm, since he usually looked like he was a clown. Nicole laughed at the contrast and kissed him lightly on the forehead.

"You're a great guy, Jytter," she said. "I'm glad you stole me."

She couldn't really be certain, but a small smile was forming on Jytter's mouth. Nicole climbed onto the bed and laid down beside him, so close that Perceptor would've blown a head gasket. The girl put her hand on his chest, right at the point where a human's heart would be. Sure enough, she felt the steady beat of Jytter's spark. So steady that she could slow dance to it and sing _My Heart Will Go On_. Such irony…

"Good night, Jytter bug," she whispered, and fell to sleep.

xXx

Brianna: I'm gonna do just like I did before to get reviews ('cause I love when people love my work!)  
Did anyone suspect Jytter to be an outcast?(Big question) Do you like how Jytter and Nicole's relationship is going? Who thought the piggy-back ride was just too cute, raise your hands! Oh, and Perceptor being like a true father, who thinks that's pretty accurate?


	6. Touched By An Angel

Chapter VI

Nicole woke up to something touching her. It more towards her head, like someone petting her hair. Her head was on Jytter's chest and listening to his spark. It was faster now and that must've meant that he was awake. The girl could feel his fingers running smoothly and softly through the edges of her hair. He never stopped. But he did once Nicole turned her head to see him. His hand stopped short in between the brush and looked at her.

"G' morning," she said, smiling cutely at him.

"Morning," he sighed, giving the same smile, but more man-like than what Nicole had going on. He finished petting her hair and laid his hand behind his head. "Sleep good?"

"Eh, could be worse," she joked. He let his hand go through her hair again.

"You look nice," he said. He took a cluster of soft, long hair and put it near his sensor. "And you smell good, too."

"Do you say this to all the ladies?" Nicole giggled. Jytter laughed and let go of her hair.

"Only the cute ones," he answered. Nicole felt her cheeks blush and was sure that Jytter could notice. She got up quick, almost falling off the bed, and handed him a small cup of energon Perceptor delivered last night while they were asleep. She first saw the note on it and read it.

**Be careful, I don't like the way this looks. -Perceptor**

Nicole crumbled up the note and threw it in a plastic bag she used as a trash can. She knew he was talking about the way Nicole and Jytter were arranged while sleeping. Deciding to ignore it, she gave the cup of energon to Jytter, but he put up a hand.

"I don't need it," he said.

"Liar, yes you do."

"No, I don't."

"You passed out because you haven't had anything to consume, now bottoms up." She shoved it towards him.

"I don't need it."

"Drink the damn _cup_, Jytter!" she emphasized. The orange mech glared at her. Nicole kept her own stare, knowing from some kind of source that women always get their way when they give men "the look". It worked like always and Jytter took the cup.

"Bottoms up," he grunted madly. He sipped it and drank the whole thing down. Nicole crossed her arms to show that she wanted him to drink some more and Jytter asked for another. The girl took the cup and poured some more of the cube into the cylinder. Jytter took it and drank it greedily, some of it running down his neck. Nicole knew that now, since he had some food, he knew how hungry he really was.

"More," he gasped when he was done with the drink. Nicole obeyed without question and poured another load. Jytter stole the cup from her grasp and drank it down. Drops of the energon had fallen onto the sheet covers and looked like they were melting through the bed.

"Hey, my mom just bought those a couple months ago!" she protested. Jytter stood up in his position.

"Sorry," he said, still drinking. Nicole grabbed a towel off the ground and gave it to him. He rubbed it on wherever he had the energon and gave it back to Nicole. She place it in a box that was labeled "Needs attention" (it's the laundry basket) and walked back to Jytter. He put the cup down on the bedside table and asked for another.

"Slow down, tiger," Nicole said.

"I haven't had anything in so long…" he groaned. "I want some more."

"Just give it a few minutes, you might get hiccups." She out her hand on the side of his face. Jytter was breathing heavily, after drinking without stopping, and his optics drooped. His head moved towards the side that Nicole put her hand upon, his right. Jytter moved his right hand until it was gently grabbing Nicole's wrist. He moved his thumb to feel the skin and groaned. Nicole felt his breathing, hot and heavy. His head moved some more so that his mouth was in her palm and he kissed it tenderly.

"Thanks," he sighed, giving it another kiss.

"No problem," Nicole said with a polite smile. She removed her hand from his grasp, but he reached out pathetically like he wanted to keep that hand there. Nicole moved to the cup and refilled it with the last of the cube. She handed it to Jytter. "Drink slowly."

"Mmh." Jytter took the cup and drank two sips. He removed it from his mouth to breathe, then took two more. Took it away again, breathed four times, then drank the last. Nicole took it from him and placed it on the table.

"Thanks again," he said, said trying to breathe. Nicole sat on the bedside and put her arms around his. She laid her head against it and let him move his head to sniff her hair again.

"Don't you have parents?" she asked, just to talk.

"Abandoned," Jytter answered. "I never knew them. They left me in a basket and I grew old enough to learn how to walk and talk on my own."

"Was it hard?"

"Very, since I didn't have anyone looking after me. You learn how to take care of yourself when you live alone on the streets. Especially on the streets of Iacon, the place Decepticons would do anything to blow up."

Nicole's face intensified with confusion. "You know, Perceptor never told me about the history of that war, he only mentioned it. What started it?"

"Some time ago, before I was built, Optimus Prime and Megatron ruled together over Cybertron. It was nice for a while, and all of us, even the street scraps like me, protected the All Spark, the legendary thing that brought Primus to life." Nicole didn't have to ask to know that Primus was their god. She heard that name several times before.

"In time, Megatron became greedy," Jytter continued. "He said we should use its power to enslave other races and take over the cosmos. Optimus Prime disagreed completely and the guy was kicked out. Megatron banded together an army, who were mostly crazy enough to do it, called Decepticons to try and force Prime to give him the All Spark. Well, Prime had his own plans and brought his own army. Ones who were loyal enough to protect the All Spark. We drove off the 'cons when we hurled it through a space bridge and let it go wherever the space bridge took it.

"So, now, we're only threatened by attacks from the Decepticons, which means Megatron hasn't found it yet."

"Threatened; like the Autobots are just suspicious?" Nicole asked.

"Pretty much, yeah."

"So one can swing by at any time?"

"Yep."

"I think I just jinxed it," she groaned.

"How so?" Jytter nudged the top of her head with his chin, just to play.

"In the movies I've seen, when someone says something like 'What could possibly go wrong?', something _possibly_ goes wrong! Now I just jinxed something by saying that a Decepticon could come by at any time. So, at some point in the near future, a Decepticon will come over and try to attack the city."

"You've got it all planned out, don't you?" Jytter giggled.

"I'm nerdy like that."

Jytter roared with laughter and positioned to give her a hug. "Well, I promise, if any Decepticon comes by, I'll be there to protect you. 'Kay?"

"If you say so."

Jytter laughed again. "You don't trust me?"

"I do! I just get nervous…"

"Don't be. Especially when I'm here." He kissed the side of her hair. "Like you said, I'm a great guy."

"You were supposed to be sleeping… I _knew _I saw you smile!" she said excitedly. Jytter laughed one more time and kissed her again. "You cheeky devil!"

"Cheeky _handsome _devil," he tried to correct.

"Don't push your luck, boy. You've never seen what I could do with a blowtorch. Then you won't be a 'cheeky handsome devil' any _more_."

Jytter acted as if she wasn't telling a joke and went back to a plain hug. Nicole chuckled and hugged him back.

"You know I can't hurt you," she said.

"But you can try."

* * *

Seeing that Perceptor was still sleeping, the two walked out of there without having any lip from the guards. There was nothing much to do that Jytter believed Nicole wouldn't have any interest in, so he asked questions about Earth, just to see if Cybertron was accurate in their studies.

"So, what are the trees there for? We didn't get much about those," he asked as they walked.

"Main reason is to provide oxygen to us, so we can breathe. Without them, carbon dioxide becomes smog and smog kills us," Nicole answered. Jytter just looked at her with widened optics. "It's true! My science teacher back in seventh grade said that a friend of his flew over Las Vegas--it's a city, Jytter--and there was yellow smog all around, and a tree couldn't be seen at _all_."

"Oh. Is there another reason for trees?" he said, just being curious.

"Well, humans also use it for paper to make books, and some animals use them for their homes."

"Books?"

"My God, you don't know what a _book _is?!"

Jytter shook his head childishly.

"Jesus, a book is what we read and where we get our information from! Yes, yes, the Internet does that too, but computer screens aren't good for the eyes sometimes. And not all books can be factual, some actually write made-up stories for entertainment. Like I do!"

"You do it for fun?"

"Is that a crime?"

The orange mech shrugged his shoulders. "Just wondering. So what about pets? Got any?"

"Spike is one. Dogs are usually called 'man's best friend' but I emphasize the 'man' part because the dog I have doesn't listen to me or my mom." That's when it hit her.

"Any more--?"

"Stop! Wait, I…" Nicole started thinking about her mom. Did she notice that her daughter was missing? Would she have called anybody to look for her? Even if she did, the police wouldn't still be looking after a month. They would've claimed her to be dead by now.

"Nicole?" Jytter said, shaking her arm and breaking her thoughts. Nicole looked at him with saddened eyes and felt tears choking her. Without words, she leaned over and let her head rest on his chest and her hands grab his arms. She began to cry, letting the tears fall down across the orange mech's chest plating and down to the metal ground.

"She's alone," Nicole cried. Jytter gently put his arms around her back and tried to look at her hidden face.

"Who, who's alone?" he asked.

"My mom," the girl continued. "She doesn't know where I am!" Jytter made shushing sounds and let the rest of his arms wrap around her. He placed his chin on her head to close her up towards his body.

"It's okay, Nicole, it's okay…I'm sure Perceptor might've done something so you mother would think that you're still there," he said, attempting to calm her down. "He probably put a holoform up for her that looks, sounds, and acts like you."

"But it's not _me_!" Nicole screamed, letting others around her hear. She didn't care if they thought this scene was rather strange--a mech hugging an organic--but who really cared? Jytter was the only one who cared about her well-being ever since she got here. He was her first friend in a month and the first who didn't think of her as a science project. Jytter thought of her like he would with a friend; he didn't see the outside flesh or the organs that were contained inside, he saw her personality, her emotions, her true self.

"Don't make a scene, Nicole," Jytter said, looking at all the faces.

"They're only looking because they think I'm disgusting! That I should put on a lab table or under a microscope!…And they look at you and think that it's gross that you're even with me."

"You don't know that."

"YES I DO! I've never seen a face go by here without knowing that they believe I'm just an animal that doesn't belong. I'm a nasty, repulsive, human being, and that's all they think about me! THAT'S _ALL_ THEY _THINK_ ABOUT ME!"

"Nicole--"

Jytter didn't have a chance to say anything when the girl released herself from his arms and ran off, not caring where she was going, only that she wanted to be away from any Cybertronians. How would _they _feel if they were put under the pressure she had right now? Would they have more respect, or would they go back to thinking that humans were just creatures that they should avoid, like cockroaches. Maybe their thoughts would even change to where they thought humans were more violent than _them_. They were savages, uncivilized creatures, foreign things, alien…

As Nicole ran, her tears ran across the side of her face. Determined to get away and find a place, her legs felt as though they weren't there and were flying. Nicole turned to look at those robotic faces once in a while, seeing looks of surprise and looks of hatred. They didn't like her, they never did, they never will.

She found the most darkest place of Iacon and slowed down to a tired walk as she passed through it. This neighborhood was torn and beaten, though there were faces that seemed happy to even have a place. Nicole came to know that this was the ghetto of Iacon, the place Jytter had been abandoned to. The children were running around with fake guns, shooting each other and even fighting over who shot who. Their parents or caretakers watching over them, making sure they were safe in these streets. And once they saw a Nicole walking through, they didn't have hate in their optics, it was more happy and inviting.

A small purple femme walked up to her and held out a hand. Nicole reached out her own hand and they shook. The femme cooed happily, making Nicole laugh. The little robot ran back to her friends and kept playing their games. Nicole looked around at the other faces, the adults, and every single one, _every _one, were smiling. She hadn't seen so many Cybertronian faces smile at her in one spot, let alone strange ones.

Nicole walked by them, giving back the smiles, showing she appreciated them. The girl played psychic one more time and knew that they were the kind that were beaten and they probably thought that she was going through the same thing. They believed they had felt her pain, but they only knew the start. They had been taken away from parents before, but never off of their planet. They would never know how that felt.

To Nicole, that felt like being caged. Sure she had a bed, her own stuff, her clothes, but they didn't give enough comfort as the clear sky or the grass or even the sound of the lawnmower every week. She missed her silly dog, Shadow, she missed talking to her friends online when they weren't in the city, she missed having the warm hugs her mother gave her, and she missed having dreams. For a month she dreamed about nothing. Though she hated when she couldn't remember her dreams, she always loved having them. She believed that they sometimes told her what could happen later on in her life or show her what she was afraid of. She recalled having a dream before she went into middle school; she forgot her locker combination, the right things for the right classes (because they followed and A-Day/B-Day schedule), even her socks and shoes had disappeared off of her feet. Now she didn't have those dreams. The nights were empty. She no longer heard the sound of crickets at night and birds in the morning; it was city sounds at night and Perceptor working in his lab in the morning. Cybertron didn't have nature; the centre of organic life. Everything was metal, _everything_. Nicole wanted so badly to go home, she wanted to leave.

* * *

Jytter had an extra gift packed inside him; following trails that were plainly seen on the road. He would call a name and his optics would show him the freshest trail of that one person. He offlined his optics for a bit and uttered "Nicole". He restarted them again to see a purple trail of human shoeprints leading all the way back to his home-place. He asked some of the ones he knew if they saw a human girl walk through. A little purple femme, Velvet, said she saw one and pointed to where she wandered off. Jytter gave the little femme a pat on and ran towards the trail. But he stopped when the trail had ended. It was just gone, disappeared, vanished, no where at all. He looked around to find another shoeprint, but found something else. A red trail of _foot_prints. Nicole had taken her shoes off and ran without them on.

Still wondering why she had done that, he ran ahead to follow the trail. It led up to one of the oldest buildings around this area and saw handprints as well that climbed up the broken side of the building and up to the top. He followed it, as quiet as he could, to see if the trail was an accurate finding.

"You found me," said a voice. Jytter poked his head over the edge to see Nicole sitting on the other end, back turned to him, and having her legs close to her chest.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"To be honest, you smell like an old pick-up truck," Nicole answered flatly. Jytter chuckled lightly and climbed over the edge. He stood about ten feet away from her, not wanting to find out what she would say if he came over to try and comfort her again.

"How did you find me?" she said.

"I pick up trails very easily."

"What, like a dog?"

"More like infrared, but it has to be fresh."

"Oh…" Both of them kept quiet, waiting for the other to say something. "Is this where you live?"

"Yeah, it's not much, but it's home, huh?" He tried to sound a bit happy, to make her feel better, but it didn't seem to work. Nicole hadn't moved an inch.

"How was it, growing up alone here?" she asked.

"Well, uh, it was tough, but somehow I managed. I learned that whenever an Autobot became drunk I had to duck and cover. They became so stupid that they randomly shot at others. It started when I was, oh, about thirty."

"Thirty?"

"We don't age like you."

"Right, I forgot…So what happened the first time?"

"I was still a sparkling, so I didn't know any better. These guys were just strolling up, looking weak and mumbling nonsense. I thought they needed some help, so I offered to let them walk with me. One of them thought I was a Decepticon and started firing at me."

"Scary shit, huh? I'll never know…"

"I ran as fast as I could, almost like a turbo fox. I ducked under a pile of debris and waited for them to pass. I sat there for a while, waiting until it was truly clear to go out again."

"How did you end up fighting in the arena?" Nicole dared to ask.

"Someone told me about it. That you can get extra money there. I trained myself hard so that I wouldn't lose, so I could get my money and be able to have at least a scrap of food. The arena backfired on me a couple of times, just like it did yesterday. Someone always came by to put me back in this dump called 'home'. With the money I had, I bought some food, but when I didn't have enough I would steal."

"How stealthy were you?"

"Pretty damn."

Nicole grunted a single, unenthusiastic, airy laugh. Jytter did the same and kept going with his life story.

"You know, each time I passed out, I saw something. It was incredible. First it came as a white light, making me think I was truly dead. Then I saw a figure in that light, but I couldn't really see anything. It started speaking to me, telling me what I did wrong and what I could improve on and what to do next. It sounded so sure of what it was saying, it didn't question it. I asked for its name, but they said it was unimportant. Once the light dimmed down a bit…I saw it…"

He took a long pause, longer than Nicole wanted.

"What did you see, Jytter?" she cried, feeling a shiver as he spoke.

"I don't know what it was. It was an organic, like you. Tall, elegant, beautiful, I thought it was Cybertronian wrapped in organic flesh, I had no idea that there were humans out there back when this happened to me. She had a long white cloth covering her entire body, a golden light surrounding her, but blinding me. When I saw something emerge from her back, I thought she was a Decepticon. But those weren't the kind of wings they usually were built with. These wings were white, soft, just making me feel weak all at once. I wanted to know what this was, and when I told my friends, they believed I was crazy. The ones who _did _believe me say there was no such thing. Her image stays here, locked in memory and comes out whenever I fall from battle…It's killing me to know what it is…" He heard Nicole crying. "Are you okay?"

"I know…what you saw," she said, her voice breaking and her hands wiping away salty tears. "I've only seen them in pictures and wondered what they were really like."

"What? What did I see!" Jytter said, impatient to know the answer.

"I never thought they would actually communicate with other beings…"

"What did see, Nicole! What?!"

She turned to look at him. A smile on her face a watery trails leading from her eye to her chin.

"An angel, Jytter," she said. "You saw an angel."

The orange mech froze in place. He had never heard of an angel before.

"They're said to be messengers of God, _my _God, not Primus. I don't know what it was doing inside your head, but it had to be for a reason…You're lucky, I've never seen one."

"If angels belong to humans, why was it trying to talk to me?"

"I don't know…" Nicole's voice was still broken from the tears trying to come out. Jytter walked towards her and sat down. He put an arm around her back and looked directly at her face. He brought a hand towards her eyes and wiped a tear away.

"Maybe we'll find that out when she comes to me again. I'll pass out in the arena and she'll come, no problem!"

"Angels don't come that way, Jytter. They only come for a good reason."

"I thought I had it figured out…"

Nicole laughed and laid her head against his chest, then turned it to look at the starry sky. "Do you have constellations?"

"Excuse me?"

"Constellations. They're pictures in the sky."

"No, we don't."

"You guys have no imagination…"

xXx

Brianna: Someboody be truely honest; who was cryng when they read this? Because I was crying when I wrote it!  
How many can see the black ghetto of Iacon?  
Who thinks Jytter's the best friend in the world? *raises hand*  
And no constellations? How lame!


	7. One Night Changes All

Chapter VII

Perceptor didn't allow Nicole to go outside the next day. He was already aware of her going into a dangerous neighborhood and _certainly _did not want that happening a second time, even if she was hurt or not. So, in the morning, Nicole laid down on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She was back to the boring stage of her vacation, and now it felt weird to be back.

"This is so not fair," she mumbled to herself. "A whole freaking planet to look at, and I can't even go out there with Jytter to see it!"

"Don't get your hopes up," said a voice in the window. Nicole lifted her head up to see. "Ya mind letting me in?"

"Jytter?!" she shouted. Nicole jumped from her bed and walked over to the window. She opened it up to see him. "Sorry, but there's a screen here."

Jytter pushed forward, causing the screen window to fall to the carpet and making Nicole jump back. He climbed through and Nicole had to help him.

"Check it out, no more screen," he joked. Nicole laughed and stroked his arm.

"You didn't have to do this, you know," she said.

Without warning, the orange mech pushed her backwards onto the bed, then he jumped on top of her.

"WHAT THE F--!"

"Shh…!" Jytter hissed in her ear. "You don't want Perceptor to hear us, do you?" He began to stroke her hair through his fingers and laid his head next to hers.

"You're pathetic, you know that?" Nicole joked. Jytter chuckled a bit.

"And you're so cute." He kissed the side of her head. His hand released her hair and moved down to her waist, slowly stroking it, making Nicole giggle.

"Stop! That tickles!" she cried. This only amused Jytter and continued the motion. "Cut it out! Ha-ha-ha!"

"Having fun?" Jytter chuckled.

"Stop it! Ah! Ha-ha!" Jytter moved on to her stomach and wildly moved his fingers, making her try to curl up into a ball with the touches. "Quit! AH!"

"Ha! You're ticklish, huh?" Jytter laughed.

"Yes! Now, stop, ha-ha!" The mech pretended not to listen. Another one of his hands reached over towards her neck and lightly touched them, giving another ticklish spot. Nicole moved her head to the side in a reflex to try and get his hand to stop moving. "Stop!"

"Why?"

"You're hurting me!"

Jytter stopped dead and removed his hands. Nicole tried to breathe and looked at the mech above her.

"You okay?" he said.

"I'll live…for now."

Jytter's face became scared.

"I'm kidding! Jeez, you're so serious sometimes!"

Jytter moved forward to give her a hug. "Don't scare me like that, okay?" He sounded like a four-year old. Well, in human equivalences.

"I'm sorry, it was just an expression…" Nicole said, putting her arms around his neck. She felt a change in his body as it went from cold to partially warm. Then he started to shiver. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm…(ahem) I'm fine," he said, not sounding at all convincing.

"You don't _sound _fine, you sound like you're struggling."

Jytter didn't have anything to say, apparently. He held Nicole tighter and leaned up so both of them were sitting up straight on her bed. Jytter's body became from warm to hot, causing Nicole's hands to sweat.

"You need some ice?" she asked.

"Uh, yes. Please!" he said without hesitation. "You sure you can get by Perceptor with a bag of ice?"

"I know how to fake a headache. I got a sinus infection."

"Is that bad?"

"I was born with it, I'm still living." With that, Nicole walked out of the room, immediately finding Perceptor down the hall. She put her hand on her forehead and lowered it to look at the ground. The girl walked forward and Perceptor stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"Are you all right?" he asked, trying to look at her face.

"My head hurts…" she groaned.

"Hold on, I'll get you some ice. Wait there!" Perceptor ran into the nearest room and grabbed a small bag of ice. He gave it to Nicole and she placed it on her head. Holy _crap_,that was freezing!

"Go back to your room, now, Nicole."

"Thanks…" _Sucker. _Nicole walked back to her room with the ice already melting on her forehead. Come on, ice can't melt _that _fast…unless…

"You're a lifesaver, Nicole," Jytter said, taking the bag of ice. He put it between his left shoulder and his neck, letting the water fall down his back and his front. He looked over at Nicole; she seemed a bit tired. "You okay over there?"

"I don't…feel good…" she groaned, grabbing her stomach. Her other hand grabbed her mouth. "Get a bucket."

"Huh?"

"Get a _FRIGGING bucket_!"

Jytter obeyed instantly and reached for an empty cardboard box that Nicole used to unload her clothes. He put it in front of her and she brought her head forward. Then and there, vomit spewed from her throat. Jytter made a face as he saw Nicole purging and didn't know what else to do for her.

"Carrots…" she moaned. "Why is it always _carrots_?" She sat down on her bed, looking at the marker board nailed to the side wall. Jytter sat next to her and put an arm on her back.

"You need to see Perceptor," she said.

"What I need is some juice," Nicole argued. "I think there's a Gatorade here from last night. There." She pointed to the side of the bed. "Get the red bottle."

Jytter stood up to get the bottle and handed it to Nicole. She took a small sip and groaned.

"Of all days, I have to be sick _today_," she complained. Nicole climbed up her bed and laid down, body over the covers and head resting against the pillow. Her head was pounding like a boxing weight champion had crawled inside and thought her brain was a punching bag. Jytter gave her the bag of ice and put it on her head. She held it down with one of her hands.

"How'd you get sick?" he asked.

"Probably from not eating enough," the girl answered. "I still didn't tell Perceptor about the 'three square meals' thing because I was too busy worrying about _you_."

Jytter's optic ridge raised up. "You're worried about me?" A smile came across his face. Nicole slapped him on the arm with the back of her other hand and didn't smile.

"Not _that _way," she moaned. "You're my best friend and you were passed out because _you _didn't eat."

"Now it's my turn to worry about _you_, huh?" he chuckled, petting her hair. "You need something else?"

"Some grapes would be nice," Nicole muttered. Jytter gave a nod stood up to walk to the door. He looked around the hall to make sure no one was there--Perceptor would _totally _throw a fit--and walked down to where he knew Nicole's food was stored. Remembering his school studies on human diets, he opened the refrigerator bolted into the back wall and nabbed a large bag of green grapes. He raced out of there, not caring if he was spotted, and gave the bag of grapes to Nicole. The girl sat up and slowly started eating one by one.

"I hate getting sick," she grunted. "I haven't even _been _sick since December!"

"What happened in December?"

"Dehydration. Couldn't eat anything dry and had to stick to soup and ice cream. Though I didn't mind having the ice cream a lot."

"Heh, well, I hope you get better by tonight."

"Don't worry your pretty, little, titanium head, boy. I've been sick like this before."

"Oh, really?" Jytter said, almost sarcastically.

"Yes, _really_," Nicole snapped back. "Back on my eleventh birthday. We were in a hotel and decided to go swimming. Some kid must've been sick and _I'm _the one who grabbed his sickness in the pool! My stomach clenched up, it was hard to eat those Mc Nuggets, and the first thing I did when I got home was throw up in the toilet. Ugh, let me tell you, Mc Nuggets taste like peppers when they come back up."

"That's _nasty_!" Jytter groaned.

"You asked!"

"Totally gross!"

"Hey, even _humans _find humans disgusting when it comes to body parts. But there are some like Perceptor who learn to deal with it…Oh, crap…"

"What?"

"Speak of the devil, the devil shall come…"

Jytter turned around to see Perceptor, arms crossed and looked angrily at the orange mech. Jytter gave a small, nervous laugh and had no clue what to say.

"_What _in _Pit_ are you _doing_ here?" the red 'bot growled. Jytter felt frozen, so brave little Nicole had to answer for him.

"You're actually lucky he's here," she said. "Apparently I'm sick."

"How?!"

"You don't feed me enough. The correct amount is _three _meals a day; morning, noon, and night. You only gave me morning and night."

"You should've told me!"

"I thought you were doing some other experiment!"

"I would never risk your life for something like that!" He turned to Jytter. "You, get out!"

Nicole grabbed his arm to hold him. "Sit, boy." The mech did as he was told and sat back on the bed. Perceptor's eyes narrowed and his teeth (if Nicole could call them that) were bared.

"Nicole, you are on my last wire here!" he said through his teeth. "Either this bottom-feeding thief leaves now, or you'll never be let out of base again!"

Nicole and Jytter exchanged looks. The orange 'bot nodded his head and stood up from the bed. His shoulders slumped and his head fell down as he walked out of the room. Nicole switched her look over to her caretaker as soon as Jytter was out of sight.

"I hate you," she growled.

"Hmph."

"Why are you such an ass?"

"Because I'm allowed to be."

Perceptor left the room, knowing that Nicole had everything she needed to get better in one day. Nicole groaned, remembering how she promised to use that line on her kids, if she ever wanted any. She was never sure. Her mom said that Nicole had ended up like her uncles; one being creative and funny, the other a hermit. If Nicole had a child, and since she didn't have a sibling, would it be as snotty as one of her cousins, or someone just like her to get along with? Lord only knew.

* * *

How long had it been, nine hours? Nicole was already pumped enough to be able to walk without getting another headache. She walked up to get some food to make up for some of the meals she never had. Who cared that dinner was in an hour, she was as hungry as Pumbaa the warthog! Getting some leftover mashed potatoes and corn, she poured the potatoes onto a plate and mixed in the corn. She put it in the microwave and heated it up. But she noticed how food never tasted the same once it was in the 'fridge then put into the microwave. It was kind of dry.

"Perceptor's such a bastard," she muttered to herself. "Jytter was fine were he was! Well, except for the tickle fight, that was…" She stopped to think what she just said; _tickle fight_. "Ugh! He's such a pervert!" Great, now she had _two _guys she wanted to slap. "Boys are such jerks!"

"Are we really?" said someone behind her. She spun around to see a red mech looking at her. She remembered him as Optimus Prime.

"Well, most dudes I know, anyway," Nicole said shyly. She took another bite of her mashed potatoes to shut herself up.

"What's wrong, Nicole?" Optimus said in a gentlemanly manner.

"Perceptor thinks I shouldn't be with this one 'bot because he believes I could get hurt."

"Who is he?"

"His name's Jytter."

"Ah, yes, I've heard of Jytter. Unfortunate that he's a thief, but an excellent fighter. How did you meet him?"

"His friends dared him to spend a day with me, so he came by, knocking on my window."

The Autobot leader found this pretty amusing and failed at holding a chuckle. "Any reason why Perceptor won't let you spend time with him?"

"He was in my room, again, when he saw him. But he was taking care of me! I was sick the whole day…Quit laughing!"

The 'bot refused to listen to her demand and kept laughing. Nicole couldn't help but laugh herself; it was a curse she had.

"Stop it!" she said, still giggling. Then serious, "Stop!" Prime stopped and looked at her. "Perceptor threatened that I would never see him again. He's the only guy that cared enough to even break me out of here and show me what's outside these walls. I like him."

Optimus sighed. The girl had a point. "I'll allow you to go see him. But if he dares to hurt you, he's never coming back, understand?"

"I'll tell him. Thanks, Prime!" Nicole ran up to give him a hug. Prime laughed at the unexpected motion and gave her one back. "You don't know how much this means to me!"

"I'll never. Now get outta here," he teased. Nicole giggled and ran away, not caring that she left her food sitting on a counter.

Nicole ran out, past the guards who were telling her to slow down, into the world of Cybertron. She half-expected for Jytter to be somewhere in sight, but there was nothing but other Cybertronians and their weird looks towards her. Se rolled her eyes, learning that she might as well forget them and ran ahead to where she thought Jytter would be.

Over by the arena, Ironhide was leaning against the open door and looking out to the field. Nicole was so quiet that he didn't even notice her standing next to him as they both watched Jytter beating up a stuffed bag.

"Is he okay?" Nicole said, scaring the mech.

"Primus, don't _do _that!" he emphasized. Then stuck to the subject. "He's upset because of your, and I quote him, overprotective caretaker. Look, he even has a picture of Perceptor's face stuck to the dummy."

Nicole giggled as she noticed the funny looking, poorly drawn face of Perceptor. She looked over to Jytter to see his face curled into a snarl and his body looking more tough than ever--could robots do that?

"Would it be a bad idea if I walked up to him and said hi?" the girl asked.

"Dunno. He'll kick the tar outta me, but for you, he'll come back to his soft side in an instant."

"How do you know?"

Ironhide grinned and leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"I've seen the way he looks at you."

Nicole's eyes were wide and she turned that same gaze to Ironhide as he backed away. That goofy grin was still there, then she turned over to the angry orange mech. Nicole gathered her courage, sucked in her gut, and walked forward towards the 'bot beating up a fake Perceptor. She stood a few feet behind so she wouldn't get hurt and called his name.

"Hey, Jytter bug!" she called. The mech stopped what he was doing and turned his head. His face changed dramatically from rage to surprised.

"Nicole?" he breathed. The girl took a couple more steps with her hands behind her back and smiling.

"Need some help beating him?" she asked. Jytter chuckled.

"Nah, I think I got him enough."

The girl looked at the picture. "'Got him enough'? Looks like you killed him and then some! That picture's torn up!"

"Then you can see how totally pissed off I was. By the way, did you sneak out again or did he let you leave?"

"Prime said it was cool."

Jytter's mouth fell open. "_Optimus_ Prime? You saw him?!"

"Of course I did! He walks around all the time! Oh, you didn't think I knew him, did you?"

"Duh! Guy's hardcore!"

Nicole looked at him in a confused way. "He seemed pretty okay to me."

"No, no, I mean when he fights."

"Be more specific, will ya? Yo, is there anything _else _to do around here besides nicking some human food?"

Jytter kept a long pause to try and think. "Well, there's…nah, you'd be too chicken."

Nicole put her hands on her hips. "Chicken?"

"Mm-hm."

"_Chicken_?!"

"Yeah, that's what I said."

"I was sent through space _millions_ of miles away from my home, became an _experiment_ for robotic aliens, snuck out of the base _just_ to get out, went through a restricted area because I was _hungry_, stood up to Perceptor to protect my _friend_, and you're calling me a _chicken_?! Boy, I'm-a hurt you until that paintjob is completely scratched beyond help!"

"Okay, okay! Chill! I didn't think, alright?"

"Mm-hm…So, what is it that you thought I was gonna 'chicken out' on?"

"Only if you're up for it.

"Do I have to repeat myself?"

"Not necessary," the mech laughed. "Here it goes: spending the night in a haunted house."

Nicole's eyebrows raised. "A haunted house?"

"That's what I said," Jytter shrugged. Nicole was completely amazed.

"You guys actually have a _haunted house_?"

"You never heard of one?"

"Hell yes! I watch all kinds of creepy movies, but I didn't expect Cybertron to have a haunted house! I'm going!"

Without another word, Jytter grabbed her and lifted her onto his back. Nicole screamed and laughed in surprise. He ran passed Ironhide--more like ran over him, really--and out towards his neighborhood. Anyone who knew him waved and said hi, but Nicole had to wave hi for him. No matter how dark and tattered this place looked, she was glad the people here accepted her. _Much _better than Sentinel, for sure.

"You okay back there?" Jytter laughed as he ran.

"Slow down, kid!" Nicole giggled. "I can't see a damn thing!"

The orange mech slowed down to a walk, but kept Nicole on his back. The girl put her arms around his neck to keep hold.

"_Thank _you," she gasped. Jytter laughed.

"Can't handle speed?"

"Hell, a roller coaster's faster than you. It just felt weird bouncing up and down."

"What's a roller coaster?"

"You're kidding, right?"

* * *

It was only twenty minutes into the dark ghetto until they made it to the abandoned part. Nicole dropped off of Jytter's back and looked around. Robotic animals were scattering everywhere, debris was spread around, and the buildings were cracked. If you look through the windows, you would think that something black would come out and attack you at any moment.

"Welcome to my home," Jytter said, putting an arm around her to make her a little more comfortable. Key word being "little".

"This is where you were dropped off?" Nicole sighed. She shivered and Jytter hugged her to warm her up.

"Yep, this is my place." He took hold of her hand and kissed the back of it. "It ain't much, but it's home."

Nicole felt as if a cold drop of water led a trail down her back. Jytter put a hand on the side of her face and smiled.

"You can always go back, you know," he chuckled. Nicole snapped her hand away and glared at him.

"Where's the damned house, boy?" she growled. Jytter smirked and held out a hand.

"Ladies first."

"And you can use the term 'lady' loosely; I'm a proud-to-be tomboy," Nicole said, glaring at him and not accepting the hand. She walked on ahead, but turned when she noticed that Jytter was behind her. "You comin' or what?"

_Scrap, she__'s mad at me_, Jytter said into his own head. He walked next to her to lead her to the haunted house.

It was a short walk, but when they got there, the house looked like any other house around here. The only difference, according to Jytter, was that a rich guy was murdered by a Decepticon back in the days of the war and, at night, his body returns to seek revenge. Nicole just thought that was just a typical story and nothing bad would happen (but she felt liked she jinxed it again).

Jytter played gentle-bot and opened up the creaky door for her. Nicole performed a polite curtsy and walked in. It looked more like a tornado whipped up in here than Decepticons attacking the place. You could hardly walk in there; you had to climb over things.

"How is this shit-hole even standing?" Nicole groaned.

"Maybe it's the spirit of Mirage holding it up," Jytter moaned in a creepy voice and moved his fingers on her shoulder to make her think it was a spider. She turned around and shook off his hand.

"You are so immature!…Wait, Mirage? That's the rich guy? I've heard that name before…"

"Everyone's heard of Mirage! Richest dude on the planet! Until the 'cons killed him. His money was given to his friends in his will. I'm glad he didn't decide to be buried with it!"

"Probably wouldn't fit," Nicole joked. Jytter laughed along, then looked around at the beaten place.

"Wonder if there's a place to sleep."

"My guess is upstairs, to the right."

"How'd you know?"

"I just know…and I saw a blueprint of Mirage's house when I was snooping in a closet behind the storage room."

"Sneak," Jytter chuckled. Nicole climbed up the steps, walking over a chair, a mirror, some pieces of the broken wall, and some other stuff she couldn't recognize. She took a right and tried to remember the blueprints, but Jytter kept poking her in the back and kept saying that he might have seen or heard something, trying and failing to scare her.

"Let's see, if the bathroom was on the south side of the blueprints, that would be on the right. So, since the room was across from it, it's the left." The girl opened the door and noticed a recharge berth. "Uh, where's the bed?"

"You're looking at it," Jytter said, scooting in front of her. He climbed onto the skinny berth and laid down. "You coming?"

"Are you kidding me? No blankets? And this thing ain't even twin size!" the girl complained.

"Welcome to Cybertron," Jytter smiled. He tapped on his chest. "So, here or the floor?"

"Ugh, fine!" Nicole groaned. She walked over to Jytter and climbed on top of him. "Just no tickling."

"Ha!"

Nicole found out that Jytter was more comfortable than she realized. She moved so that she was face to face with the mech, and not either one of them knew how long they were looking into each others eyes, and didn't notice they were doing so. To Nicole, his eyes were a bright blue, like the sky she missed back on Earth. They were calm, cool, filled with joy. And to Jytter, he had never seen eyes like hers. The color was centered in white, and the blue-green texture made him feel warm but cold at the same time. Otherwise, he felt empowered just by looking.

"Alone…in a haunted house…with my best, robotic, alien friend…" Nicole sighed. "How great is this?"

"Psyched?" Jytter chuckled, pulling out the girl's hair tie, letting it wrap around his wrist, and running his fingers through her hair again. Nicole smiled and gave a single, soft laugh.

"Almost like a dream," she answered.

"Sing me a song?"

Nicole's head raised. "Excuse me?"

"I heard that humans can make different pitches with their voice. And that it can affect how one feels, and that it's called singing. Will you sing for me?"

"Maybe not now…Especially in a creepy place like this." She looked around at all the broken things. It was like any other room, but made of metal and was shattered beyond repair.

"Just one teeny song?" he begged.

"You're gonna keep bugging me until I do, huh?"

"Pretty much."

"Fine…Let me think…"

"Something sweet, all right? Make me fall asleep."

"I got it! Ready?" Jytter positioned himself and offlined his optics to hear her. Nicole had taken a while to gather up her voice. She didn't like singing in front of people too much, let alone ones she just met. But here goes nothing!

"_Sing sweet nightingale…sing sweet nightingale…hi-i-i-i-igh above me…_" She hadn't sung this song in a long time, but it was the closest thing that came to "calming" on short notice. Half-way through the short song, Jytter was already sleeping. Nicole could hear his chest softly beating and finally noticed one of his hands across her back to hold her there. The girl suddenly remembered what Ironhide had said.

"_He'll kick the tar outta me, but for you, he'll come back to his soft side in an instant._"

"_How do you know?_"

"_I've seen the way he looks at you._"

This made Nicole quiver. How could someone like Jytter fall so in love with her after just three days? Let alone him being a metallic robot, and her a squishy organic? That just couldn't be possible! They hadn't gone through much for him to love her. But as she really thought about it, he gave signs that he loved her; kisses on her head and her hands, big bear hugs, the way he talked, the things he said, even the way he tickled her was a sure sign of his love.

Trying to push the thought aside to get a good night's sleep, Nicole rested her head against his chest, put her hand where his spark was, and felt its warmth heating up his exterior.

xXx

Brianna: Hey, Alythia, doesn't this sound like my Brainwave story but vice versa? AH HA! I just thought of that! (Oh, for the people who don't know that story, _please _read it; it's cute, funny, and it has a tear breaker in the end. And make sure to read the sequel, too!)  
Who thinks Perceptor's overeacting at least a tad?  
Who thinks Jytter's just too adorable?! *raises hand*  
How many are getting the urge to chant out "KISS! KISS! KISS!"?


	8. Past Versus Present

**For the people who feel like this story ought to be a movie (I only wish), this is Jytter's past revealed. It's a shocker!**

Chapter VIII

Once Jytter woke up to his inner alarm system, he found that Nicole wasn't anywhere in the room with him. He sat up in the berth and called her name. He swung his legs over the side and stood up, calling her name again. Taking a good look at the room, it didn't look too bad when a little light shone through.

The mech walked down to the ground floor to look for Nicole. She was in the messed up kitchen. In her hand was a mixing bowl and a spoon in the other. Her hand was moving around the bowl, mixing a purple liquid.

"Did we get married?" Jytter asked.

Nicole turned her head around and smiled. "No, we didn't." Jytter gave a "hmph" and walked towards her. He put his arms around her from behind and laid his chin on her shoulder.

"Too bad," he said. "That would've been something to talk about." He kissed her neck slightly and let go of her. Nicole put down the bowl and looked at him.

"Okay, before I go totally blonde here…when did one ask the other to date?" she said. Jytter raised an optic.

"Pardon?"

"You kiss me like I'm your girlfriend. When did we agree to go out? Tell me!"

The orange mech shrugged. He grabbed her hand and pulled it up so the back of it was brushing against his cheek.

"I just thought it was something less than serious, but more than friendship," he answered. Nicole snapped her hand away.

"And what kind of status is _that _called? Prostitution?!"

"Whoa! Stop there!"

"No! Jytter, if there's something you want to say to me, no secrets, now would be the perfect time to tell me!" Nicole didn't like drama, but it pretty much ran through the father's side of the family.

"Friends," Jytter replied simply, giving a huff. "That's all."

"Then act like it before you make me feel uncomfortable." Nicole shoved the bowl to Jytter's chest. "Here. It's soft enough for you to at least sip it. Eat. I'll be waiting outside." With that, Nicole walked out of the house, sitting at least a block down from the house. Jytter took the spoon inside the bowl and took out a good amount. He sipped it down; damn, that tasted better soft!

"_The command was for you to come alone, alone._"

Jytter spun around to find out who said that. A purple and gold looking mech stood in the corner.

"_What do you want, cockroach?_" Jytter said, sounding in a tone that would terrify Nicole.

"_I know why you did it, it. That girl…you want her as your bond-mate, mate._"

"_Shut up!_" Jytter threw the bowl at the Insecticon. "_I'll kill her, Shrapnel. I will!_" The beetle dodged the bowl and it hit the wall, breaking and causing the fluid to drip down the walls.

"_No…I've seen you, Jytter. You've gone soft, soft. Nothing more than a stupid Autobot, Autobot!_"

"_I'll slagging kill you! Don't you _ever _accuse me of wanting to bond with a human!_"

"_Kill Shrapnel? That's a little too deep for you, Jytter_," said another voice. From behind, another Insecticon walked up. "_You can't even steal your own food without being scared of getting caught. You can't even fight without food!_"

"_Nice to see you too, Kickback. Is there a reason that both of you are angry that I'm mingling with a human girl?_"

"_It's not _us _that are angry, but it disturbs Megatron a bit. We've been sneaking around here, Jytter. We can see what you feel for the girl. It's way too obvious!_"

"_There's nothing._"

"_You've never been able to tell the truth, truth_," Shrapnel chattered. "_You've lied about being an Autobot, now you lie to the girl about each other, other._"

"_SHUT UP, FRAGGER!_"

"_Hmm…If she can fall for your looks, maybe I can woo her with my words…_" Kickback cooed. Jytter turned to the grasshopper, optics turning from blue to bright red.

"_Touch her and you'll find yourself to the mercy of the Constructicons!_" he growled.

"_Tsk, tsk, tsk. So violent. Should we have to bring you back?_"

"_No!_"

"_And why not?…Oh, nothing else to say? Too busy thinking about your alliance? Let me give you a hint. Rhymes with 'icon', relates to 'deception'._"

"_Kill the girl, girl_," Shrapnel continued. "_You want to see her blood as much as we do, do. You are raised by us, you kill, kill. Kill the girl, girl! Taste her blood, blood! It's fresh, new, delicious, delicious! How does it taste, taste?!_" Anyone could see that Shrapnel was hungry. He was licking his mouth as he was thinking himself of how Nicole would taste inside his mouth.

"_I…I can't…_" Jytter breathed, almost imagining the gory scene himself.

"_You can't _what_, Jytter? Kill the girl?_" Kickback teased. "_You brought her here because you wanted her to be safe. You know Megatron wants to use her for the Decepticon cause. She'll be the source of human extermination. And it will be the Autobots' fault! They brought her here, we take her! Simple! Oh, this is just--_"

He was stopped when Jytter threw a large piece of debris at the Insecticon, but received one of Shrapnel's electric shocks in the back, making him fall to his knees and stay up by using his arms.

"_You sly, little, petro rabbit!_" Kickback laughed. "_You had me create a monologue! I never thought you had it in you!…Oh, unfortunately your speed still needs some work._"

"_I want you to leave Nicole alone_," Jytter growled as he stared up at his father with red eyes. "_I'll have her ready, I swear._"

"_Hmm, you better keep that promise. Shrapnel's looking mighty starved._"

xXx

Nicole: Are you _kidding _me?! My best friend is...is...!

Brianna: *pats Nicole on back* It's alright, sweetie. Okay, to the readers, sorry that it's so short, I just want a review focused on this one scene. So, how's the breathing coming along on the other end there? Want to shout to Nicole and tell her to run like hell, want to hurt Kickback, want to try and comfort Jytter? (He's taking requests of those, by the way. Send him a cyber hug, he needs it badly... poor baby...)

* * *


	9. Two Minds, One Soul

**Anyone notice that I'm probably one of the few people who mention the Incesticons so much?**

Chapter IX

The orange mech was frozen in place. The terrible words of his father and friend had torn him apart. They wanted so bad to taste Nicole's blood, they already had it on their tongues. Optic fluid fell from eyes and onto the black, age-old soot on the ground. He never meant to harm Nicole, _never_. He had to lie to her to spend some time along with her, and he knew that's exactly what she hated in a male; a liar. But that's what he was born into. In the world of Decepticons, you had to lie to survive or to get your way. Hell, it wasn't just Nicole he lied to, it was _everyone_. He lied to Ironhide, to Gunsalt, and to Red Mark, his friends who accepted him as the poor street scrap, but not as the Decepticon, the full-blooded Decepticon. So he sat there, crying away like, and quoting Kickback, his mother, Thunderblast, whenever she lost a battle. He didn't like this, at all. He hated being a Decepticon, he wanted to die, right now! But if he died, who would protect Nicole? If Jytter wasn't going to save her, the Insecticons would grab her and drag her over to the _Nemesis_, the dreaded warship and an Autobot's greatest fear. There, Soundwave, along with his cassettes and the Constructicons, would tear her apart to find a weakness in humans. They would use the information to bring humans down and exterminate them to find the All Spark, which was believed to be hidden on their planet.

At first, to the orange mech, it was a great idea. Of course, that was back when his mind was corrupted by darkness, as were many others under the brutal leader's command. Now that he had met Nicole, he realized how dangerous this actually was. Killing the humans wasn't just an extermination, it was a genocide, much more attention and a lot more to go through. Jytter had agreed to play the biggest part in it; to capture the human female and bring her back for studies. He was the reason Nicole was in grave danger, but if it was someone else, she'd be dead by now. Jytter looked down to his wrist. That green hair-tie was still there. He grabbed it and pulled it off, then brought it to his sensors. He took a sniff to recognize the scent.

Like a breeze on Earth's parks.

* * *

"That stupid son of a bitch!" Nicole shouted as she came home. "He didn't even come! He left me there. He _left _me!" She slammed the door to her bedroom before Perceptor could ask her what was the matter and jammed a fist into her pillows several times. "Why. Are. Guys. So! _Retarded_!" She gave the pillow one last punch before Perceptor walked in.

"Is everything alright?" he asked. Nicole sighed. She wanted to tell him to go away, but he was being a caretaker and wanted to know.

"Jytter's being a jerk," she groaned. The girl fell down onto her bed and buried her face into the beaten pillow. She gave out a muffled scream and stopped when Perceptor put a hand on her back. Nicole moved her head to the side so she wouldn't suffocate herself.

"What did he do this time?"

"We went to a so-called haunted house and spent the night there. In the morning, I got mad at him." She paused, wondering if she should give full detail or not.

"Why?" Full detail it is.

"Because for the past three days he kissed me like he loved me." She noticed that red aura around Perceptor glowing again. "I asked him if we were truly dating, or if he thought I was some prostitute and that he felt he had a right to kiss me whenever he wanted. I walked out of the room, left him behind, then waited a block away for him to walk me back home. He never came, so I left by myself."

"Thank Primus you didn't get hurt!" Perceptor sighed. "Where is that youngling? I'll make sure he pays for what he did!"

"Completely unnecessary, Perceptor," Nicole laughed. "I don't need any more drama today. Just lock the doors for me and keep him out. If he tries to get in, tell him that I don't wanna see him for a while."

"Did he harm you that bad?"

"Only my insides."

The red mech nodded and walked out of the room. Nicole heard the lock click into place and she beat her head against her pillow three times.

"Dudes. Are. Shit heads!"

"Surely we're not," said a voice. Nicole knew that voice all too well and didn't bother looking up.

"Go a_way_, Jytter," she moaned.

"I…I came to apologize," he stammered. Nicole sighed and came up from her bed. She walked around it and opened up the window, but didn't let him in. "I'm sorry, Nicole. I had no right to treat you that way, at all. I thought you found it cute that I kissed you!"

The girl gave a slight laugh and her head bent down.

"Look, I wanted to spend time with you, as long as you're here. Don't you think you deserve it?"

_Kill the girl, Jytter._

"ACK!" Jytter put a hand to his head and another to the wall to stay up. Nicole leaned over to see him.

"Jytter! Oh, God!" She patted on his back to tell him he could come up. Jytter acted quickly and was in the bed faster than Nicole could realize. He put a pillow to his forehead and tried so hard not to shout.

"Jytter, you need to relax, okay?" Nicole sighed, trying to calm the mech down. She put a hand on his head and removed the pillow. His face was tightened up to show his struggling and his fist clenched the bed sheets under him. "Jytter?"

"Get out of my _head_!" he said through gritted teeth. Nicole was scared and shaking. She had no clue what to do! She wasn't a mechanic, show she wouldn't be able to fix what was hurting him so much. But the pain didn't seem to be physical.

"Jytter?…Buggie buddy?…"

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD, FRAGGER!" Jytter's eyes opened wide to where they were almost complete circles and burned a bright red, stabbing Nicole in the heart and freezing her. Since she couldn't react, Jytter's arm whapped her from her chin and another arm swung over to beat her on the side, making her fall helplessly to the ground. Jytter stood up from the bed and on the floor. He stared at the fallen girl. She was bleeding from her mouth and tears came from her eyes.

"Jytter, please!" she cried.

_What the slag are you doing in my head, cerebro freak! _Jytter shouted inside his mind to try and remove the intruder.

_Making sure you do the job right! _said the dark voice. _Let's kill her! You know you want to taste that sweet blood! Like Kickback always said, if the scent's sweet, the taste is even sweeter. Just like energon, but better!_

"She is not food, you glitch!" Jytter had no idea he said that out loud and grabbed his head, attempting to shutdown and terminate the prowler from his mind.

_Don't you dare, Jytter!_

"You're dead to me!"

_DON'T!_

"JYTTER!" Nicole cried.

The orange mech pounded his head five times against the wall, bruising it badly, but it was enough for him to shut down. Nicole crawled over to his side, looking at the mech's head, bleeding energon as fast as she could sweat. She sobbed as she looked at what horrified her most and attempted to call for Perceptor. Her tears choked up her throat, so she wasn't able to say anything louder than a broken whisper.

"Tell me, Jytter. What was that about?" she cried. "I want to know why you acted like this. Please tell me when you wake up. Promise?"

* * *

His optics opened up slowly and weakly. Last thing he remembered doing is jamming his head against the wall to protect Nicole from himself. _From himself_. Jytter had to accept that he was a monster, a thing destined to destroy and kill. But the one thing that stopped him from doing that was Nicole. Just by looking at her made him stop and think about where he was and where he could've been. Jytter looked to the side to see Nicole's sleeping head on the berth and her arms serving as her pillow. The mech smirked at this image.

"Hello, gorgeous," he said, barely under a whisper. He couldn't move, but it wasn't by his hands tied down, no, not at all. He was too weak. He nearly brought himself to the final shutdown with his own blow. He nearly killed himself, but almost destroyed Nicole because of a certain Insecticon, Bombshell. Primus, what a pain in the aft.

Nicole stirred a bit, groaning about something. She was speaking in her dream, trying to stop something, but Jytter had no clue what it was. She jerked once and her eyes were widened with the terror of her dream. She looked at the dented Jytter in front of her.

"Morning, sunshine," he chuckled. Nicole dared not to laugh. She only kept her stare and her mouth open to try and breathe. "What's wrong?"

"I need some air," she said. Nicole stood up and walked out of the room. Jytter sat there, confused.

"Cybertron doesn't even _have _air," he corrected.

Nicole wasn't able to hear him. She was already on her way to the meeting room and made it outside to the front steps. She sat down on them, putting her elbows on knee and hands on lower jaw for support. This didn't make sense; Jytter leaving her there--she'd know a guy like him would never do that--and the 'bot beating himself up against the wall, telling something to get out of his head. What really scared her was her dream. Jytter had become violent, dark, changed, up to the point where she could hardly recognize him. He wasn't the perky little Autobot she met a few days ago, he was a stranger that wanted badly to kill her, but tried to say he was protecting her. Another figure came up, his voice sounding honey-smooth, tried to convince Nicole to follow him. The strange Jytter shouted at her not to do it, that she'd be killed once they were done with whatever they were going to do. Another black figure came up and silenced Jytter by putting a hand to his throat and choking him. The honey-smooth one turned Nicole's face from that scene over to his face.

"_We won't hurt you_," he promised.

"Hey, you're that human girl!" said a voice. Nicole looked up to see Red Mark, Jytter's gal pal. Looks like she finally downloaded some English, sweet English. "What are you doing here, looking like that? Where's Jytter?"

"Jytter's inside, but he's…I think he's insane."

Red Mark put her hands on her hips. "You just _now _figured that out?" she laughed.

"I'm serious, girl! He beat his head against my wall saying there was something in his head. He nearly killed himself! Then I had a dream; he was changed, but he said he was protecting me from something…I'm scared, Red Mark, I don't know what's going on!"

Red Mark waked over and sat next to her. She put her arms around her to give her a hug; she needed it. "Hey, hey, it was just a dream."

"But it was so real! God, I knew I shouldn't have gone to that haunted house. I'm spooked now!"

"What haunted house?" Red Mark let go of her and stared at her with confusion written all over her face.

"The one Mirage lived in."

"What?!" the femme shrieked. "That place is restricted! There's reports of Decepticons that crawl around there like bugs!" (Note the irony)

"He told me it was safe, and he seemed so sure!"

"Jytter's a good liar, Nicole. I've seen him in action before," the red femme said. Another one of her friends called her name and she stood up. "Well, gotta get going! Just wanted to know if everything was okay for you."

"Not anymore, I'm freaked out…"

"Well, do something that'll make you…_not _freaked out. Okay, I'm coming!" Red Mark ran back to her friends, leaving Nicole pondering. Jytter's a good liar, eh? If he lied about being in a serious relationship, he totally had her going!

* * *

Jytter groaned to himself. How could he have been so stupid! The Insecticons were an impatient bunch and wanted her die just to feed on her. He shivered at the thought of Nicole's body torn open, but it also made him starve for that rich, red blood. _No, stop it! That's the most vile thing you could ever think of!_

_But she looks so tasty…_Jytter was fighting with two sides of himself. One wanted to protect her from anything and everything. The other wanted nothing more than to feast on her flesh.

_She doesn't deserve to die; she's your friend._

Your _friend, you mean. You've become soft, Jytter. What's the matter? The girl change you?_

_Shut your fragging mouth, you bastard!_

_I _AM _YOU!_

"Rrraaaagh!" the mech groaned. This wasn't fair! He didn't want to hurt Nicole, and Bombshell nearly made that happen by taking over his brain. Fortunately, Jytter's CPU is a little bit more harder to control and the mech was able to shut down before the Insecticon could have complete dominance over it.

"No…" He started to cry again. "She's everything to me."

_Aww, isn't that just SO PATHETIC!_

_Shut up._

_That girl will save your hide! All you have to do is take her back to Megatron, everything will be fine!_

_I wouldn't call 'betraying my best friend' something fine._

_Oh, so now she's a friend? Four days ago she was your prey._

_Shut up, I said!_

_Or what, you'll get rough with me? Ha! The only reason you're here is because you want to change and become a pathetic little Autobot for Nicole!_

_I hate you._

_Ooh, say it again, that sounded good. It gave me shivers!_

"I HATE YOU!" the mech shouted, making the room quake. His Decepticon side was just playing with him! To the side, a door opened to bring in Perceptor. He didn't look very pleased to see him.

"Who are you talking to?" was his first question, of all.

"Myself."

"Because you are insane?"

Jytter nodded his head.

"Yes, Jytter, I know what you are. After a few tests, I found it in your system. Impressive that you can mask your Decepticon signal, but then again it's frightening. How would Nicole feel if she knew? Does she?"

"_She knows nothing, Autobot!_" Jytter growled in Cybertronian. His voice was raspy, and sounded very hungry. Jytter's bad side wanted to kill Perceptor, too.

"You _are _crazy," Perceptor sighed. "I am sorry, but we can't have you around Nicole much longer."

"WHAT?!" Jytter's voice came back to normal. "You can't do that! There's things you don't know, stuff you'll never understand!"

"We can take care of Nicole without the help of a Decepticon, thank you."

"_Right, because you were doing such a swell job before!_" That evil side really started to get on Jytter's wiring. "_I seem to recall in the back of this guy's CPU that she was mad at you for keeping her inside this slag-hole you call a base! She doesn't like you anymore!_ Grah! Make him stop!"

"It seems you have a lot going inside your head," Perceptor mumbled, not phased by the dark Jytter's words. "I'm sorry we can't fix that, but we would be more than happy to escort you out. Sentinel?"

From out of the shadows came the large blue mech, looking ready to beat up Jytter.

"No, please! You don't understand! Nicole's in danger!" Sentinel grabbed the mech by the arms and walked him out with stasis cuffs. Jytter fidgeted about, trying to be released from the pain. "They're going to come get her; take her to Megatron, please! I have to save her!"

"Shut your mouth, Decepti-creep!" Sentinel growled. He opened the doors to shove him outside. Nicole was still on the steps and looking at the scene.

"Nicole! Oh, Primus, listen to me!"

"She doesn't want to hear your stories, freak!"

"NO! Listen! I was possessed! I didn't want to hurt you! That was Bombshell! He took over my mind and wanted to kill you. _They're all going to kill you!_"

"Jytter, stop scaring me!" Nicole cried.

"LISTEN! Back at the house, I--"

"Shut up!" Sentinel shouted. He unhooked the stasis cuffs and shoved Jytter so he would trip over the steps. "Get in here, Nicole. Let's get away from that thing."

"That _thing _is my friend!"

"He's a Decepticon!"

Nicole felt shocked. Just suddenly hearing that your best friend was homicidal is certainly something you couldn't prepare for. She looked at Jytter, fallen on his knees on the metal ground, trying to get back up.

"Is it true?" Nicole breathed, talking to him. Jytter stood up, his shoulders slumped down in his own disappointment and eyes looking dreary.

"Yes," he said.

"You're lucky Perceptor didn't order you to be arrested," Sentinel threatened. "Now get out of here before I do it myself!"

Jytter nodded his head once, then looked to Nicole. "I'm sorry…" From his back, two large wings emerged, ones that you'd find on a jet. Jytter transformed, looking between a praying mantis and a fighter plane. Nicole gasped at the sight of him, and he flew away, leaving her alone again, probably for another month. Jytter flew on ahead, back to Mirage's old house. He looked at his sharpened hand.

Nicole's green hair-tie.

xXx

Brianna: Bombshell's a pretty rough guy, huh? Jytter is still taking those hug requests, now Nicole needs a few. Kickback dares you to try and punch him, Shrapnel wants to eat you alive, and Bombshell will do all kinds of things to mess up your mind if you try to attack him.

**If you enjoy this story and feel like it shouldn't be be so low on readers, pass it around!**


	10. Where Your Allegiance Lies

Chapter X

"Yo, Jytter! Glad to see you're back!" said the little blue 'bot, Rumble. Jytter had no choice but to fly back to base and tell his father and his leader how he had failed. Both Rumble and his red brother, Frenzy, kept asking him about the girl, since they heard rumors from "reliable sources" that he wanted to merge with her.

"How can you even do that?" Frenzy asked. "I mean, wouldn't you short circuit if her tongue touched your glossa?"

Jytter growled at the two Cassetteicons' immaturity.

"How about the merging thing? Humans can't open up their spark chamber, so he'll have to bring his cable to her port and--"

"Shut up, already! You're disgusting!" Jytter screamed at them.

"Just speakin' the truth, here, bud!" Rumble laughed. He spotted the green band around the orange mech's wrist and pointed. "What the frag is that?"

"Nothing," Jytter quaked, hiding the hair-tie with his other hand. Frenzy and Rumble put on a show; Frenzy being the girl, Rumble the mech. The blue 'bot approached his brother and bowed. Frenzy giggled like a femme and curtsied. They put their hands together and did a slow dance. Rumble started playing a tune to add to the mockery.

"Stop it before a I crush you like the vermin you are!" Jytter snarled.

"Surely you weren't this cruel to the girl, were you?" Kickback said, leaning against the wall. "Let the cassettes have their fun. You've certainly had your own fill of it. Tell me, how was it, being with a human girl and trying to hide a deep secret from her? Torture, isn't it? You make your mother proud."

"Don't talk about my mom, you slime."

"And I advise you not to speak to your father that way. Remember that I am the one who taught you everything you know, but still, your training is still incomplete. I have the upper hand." Another Insecticon prowled up from behind. His face covered entirely, like Soundwave, but didn't have the same monotonous frequency to his voice. He was none other than the mind-control freak himself, Bombshell. "What will it be, son?"

Jytter hated his father. He never felt this much hatred since the first time he'd lost at the arena. His whole life cycle, he had looked up to him like any son would. Now that Nicole had changed most of him, he wanted Kickback to die, to fall down dead right now, or to become weak enough so Jytter could kill him himself.

"Megatron wishes to hear a reply, Jytter," said the bulky beetle. The orange mantis gave a nod and followed him down to the large room. Megatron was already sitting on his throne, the ever-so-loyal Starscream standing beside him. The others in the room were Hook, Scrapper, Thundercracker, Skywarp, and the hungry Shrapnel. The skinny beetle was already drooling at the mouth, waiting for his food and then shocked when he realized Jytter didn't bring home the groceries.

"Where is the girl, girl?" he snarled.

Jytter paid no attention to the friend of the family and looked at his leader. The dark grey Decepticon glared back, wondering the same thing Shrapnel was. Those deep red eyes narrowed down, piercing through Jytter like a knife.

"Well, where is she?" Megatron said in a dark tone, scaring the living slag out of the young mech. Knowing how to hide his cowardice, Jytter took a low bow and dared not look his leader in the optics again.

"Mission unsuccessful, my Lord," he announced. Megatron banged his fist once on the arm of his throne chair.

"It's always the young and weak!" he shouted. "How do you explain yourself?"

"I was in the girl's room, ready to grab her." _Brilliant, my simple-minded friend! Tell him the "truth"! _"Bombshell, as impatient as he was, tried to control my mind to get me to kill the girl. I had to offline myself to stop him; without the girl, we have nothing." _Don't you mean you? _"The Autobot's top scientist found the Decepticon energon in my tubes and threw me back out on the street. I have no way of getting to her now."

"Au contre, my son," Kickback interrupted. "I hear there's a little gathering tonight, to give the Autobots a chance to mingle with the girl. A little paint over our symbols and the girl is ours for the taking!"

_Dad's really starting to piss me off._

_Be quiet, you imbecile! I like his plan!_

_Of course you do, you're a nut._

"Excellent! Kickback, you and your Insecticons will go to the party. As for you, Jytter, you will stay here. I don't want any more mistakes coming from you. Thundercracker, guard his room. He is not to come out until we have the girl in this building."

"Understood, sir," the grunt mumbled.

"Good. Insecticons, get ready for your event. I need this to be perfect; it's the only chance we'll get!"

All three bugs saluted their leader and walked to their rooms to find something to paint over their Decepticon symbols. Thundercracker escorted Jytter back to his room and locked the door shut. He stood guard right next to it with his arms crossed over his chest, looking like a true Decepticon grunt.

_You are simply brilliant, my friend. You know that? _his evil side muttered sarcastically.

"I'm in this mess because of her."

_Yes, YES! Because of _her_! She changed you, made you weak, made you feel even the slightest bit of comfort around Autobots. Remember? You always thought that Gunsalt and Red Mark were just annoying little insects, now you respect them as your friends! It's all because of her, IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF HER!_

"I'm gonna ask you one more time to be quiet," Jytter growled.

_Or _what_, you slag-head?! If you had listened to your father, Soundwave would've been done with his tests and we would be eating her right now! Oh, the taste of a woman's flesh! Oh, so good…! Doesn't it taste wonderful?_

"SILENCE, FOOL!" Jytter shouted. "Nicole is not what you think."

_Oh yeah? May I remind--_

"Let me finish you annoying little slag-sucking excuse of my own self! Nicole is my friend! If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't know where my true allegiance lies. I would be feasting on her like an animal, like Shrapnel! Nicole's a brave, funny, and intelligent young woman, and I love her!"

What_ did you say?_

"I said I…" Jytter clamed down, to realize _exactly_ what he said. "Heh, I love her…I love her. I LOVE HER!"

_Alright! I heard you the first time!_

"I love Nicole Baring!" Jytter was overjoyed. Though his other self didn't find this at all amusing, Jytter continued with laughs of triumph and transformed into his mantis form. With his thick and sharp arms, he sawed a large hole through the thick wall. Before he jumped out, Thundercracker opened the door to see Jytter getting ready to make a run for it.

"No you don't!" he shouted, lunging at the Insecticon-Seeker. Jytter dodged the tackle and flew out of the hole. Thundercracker radioed his brother on com-link. "Skywarp, we got a runner! Bring him back!"

"On it, bro," Skywarp replied, already in the air. He aimed his null rays at Jytter and started to fire. The orange bug was only hit once, but the other times he either dodged it or Skywarp just had a bad shot today.

"Ah! Oh, man…I picked a hell of a day to stop drinkin'!" he groaned. Jytter did a few maneuvers to make Skywarp do the same so he could follow him. He attempted to make some flips and twists and loops, only making the Seeker feel more terrible. Skywarp stopped and transformed in mid-air, holding his midsection.

/_What are you doing, Skywarp? Get him!/ _Thundercracker shouted.

"Oh…I don't feel so hot, mmph! I think I might blow a gasket…"

_/Hold in the slag and keep following him! He's going to the party!_/

"Eh, let him…The Autobot's will have a frag of a time, believe you an' me. Oh, Primus, here it comes!"

xXx

Brianna: Yeah, dat's ma bohie! (For the reading-impaired, that's "Yeah, that's my boy!" right there. 'Kay?) Way ta go, Jytter bug! Love is strong!


	11. Shuffle and Slide

Chapter XI

"Are you _done _yet?" Perceptor said, banging on the bathroom door. "You've been in there for an hour! How long does it take to get clean?"

"May I remind you that you're the one who said 'make yourself presentable', and I wanna look my best! Plus, I'm almost done, so hold your horses!" Nicole shouted from the shower. "Jeez, these people, I swear…" Nicole turned off her shower and grabbed her towel, dried up half of her body, and wrapped it around her body. She opened up the door and brushed right by Perceptor. "I can't even take a peaceful shower without you hounding me." She walked down the empty hall way towards her room.

"Half of the most wealthiest Cybertronians are coming by just to see you; we need to hurry!"

"Quit sweating it, man," Nicole cooed. "It'll be fine. Just a few chats, come on. Really?…And that's why me and Jazz came up with something."

"Excuse me, you and Jazz planned something without my consent?" Perceptor said, surprised and scared of what the two of them had planned.

"Come on, you guys are gonna love it! Now leave me alone, I gotta get dressed."

"But I--" He didn't get a full sentence out as soon as Nicole slammed the door on him. "Oh, Primus, tell me everything's going to be okay."

Nicole came out, wearing a long, sky blue, backless dress. Perceptor didn't know what to think about it, but Jazz's main comment was "_Damn_!" The two of them were working out what she would say as soon as she walked out there to introduce the big show they were going to do. Perceptor didn't hear any of it, but wasn't sure if he _wanted _to know.

* * *

"Ugh, that boy is so stupid!" Kickback groaned. He was covered in blue paint, leaving some parts gold, and a red Autobot symbol on him that took quite a while to create. "He's off to save that girl, after he promises to steal her. You were right to try and overpower him, Bombshell. That boy is nothing but trouble. Especially when he goes through puberty!"

"Hey, boss, you think we might be able to get that girl to come with us?" Shrapnel asked, painting himself with yellow ink.

"Of course! I can make friends just as fast as a turbo fox can run at top speed! The girl will be so charmed she'll faint."

"Not to be a buzz-kill or anything, guys," Rumble blurted out from below, "but wouldn't it be easier to let Bombshell control her mind?"

"Not a chance," Bombshell corrected. "The Autobots could pick up the signal easy. And I don't know what cerebro-shells can do to humans, so I wouldn't bother."

"Just a thought…"

"Once that boy is in my sights, I'll kill him! I don't care if there are any Autobot witnesses; I will terminate him!"

* * *

Jytter landed right outside the academy. Inside was a large room that held occasions such as celebrations or graduations. Tonight was Nicole's party. He shifted back into his two-legged form and virtually reversed the symbol on his shoulder. His optics slowly changed color to blue and he looked from the wall he was hiding behind. Several Cybertronians were already walking into the building and speaking to each other of what the human girl might be like. The orange mech sighed. Of course; this was a perfect place to hide a Decepticon. With this party, they could do practically anything since everyone was in one spot. But what they needed to do was in that "one spot".

He walked on ahead, hoping no one had noticed, and blended in the crowd.

* * *

"Can't you even give me a least a _hint _of what you're doing?" Perceptor begged. No one had ever seen the scientist beg, so Jazz was mentally recording this moment.

"No can do," Nicole smirked. "What we're doing is a secret until nine o' clock tonight. Ain't that right, Jazzy DJ?"

"Straight up, my girl!" They gave each other a high-five. Perceptor slapped his hand on his head.

_I hate teenagers…_ he said, mentally.

One full hour later, Nicole was presented at the party. Everyone had turned to see a beautiful organic girl in a light blue dress. The girl was pretty shy to be walking down steps like a princess with everyone gasping, murmuring, and staring at her. She was escorted by Jazz on her right and Perceptor to the left. Jazz was acting as if he was the man-of-the-hour by holding Nicole's arm like a gentleman. Nicole gave him a suggestion to wear a black bow tie on his neck just to look cute, and the white 'bot gave in. He looked so snazzy and adorable that Nicole just wanted to bring home a stuffed version of it and squeeze it tight!

The whole night, Nicole was talking to the ones who actually knew English, but Jazz played her interpreter whenever they met up with someone who spoke mainly Cybertronian and didn't bother to download the rest of the Earth language.

"Hey, Jazz?" the girl asked. The mech leaned down to listen above the noise. "What time is it?"

"It's eight fifty four, why?"

"Better get up there, DJ."

"Right." Both human and robot walked up on the stage. Perceptor tried once more to figure out what they were doing, but Nicole kept silent and grabbed the microphone out of his hand. Jazz was standing backstage right behind a DJ system. Nicole puffed into the microphone.

"Testing, one, two. Is it good? Yeah. Okay." All optics turned to her. "If anyone's having a good time so far, shout 'Yeah'!"

The whole room shouted.

"I don't believe you…" she said in an unconvinced tone. They laughed. "Hey, can anyone, raise of hands, tell me if they actually studied about Earth. Raise your hands…All right! Not bad! Now, close your eyes, optics, whatever, close 'em…Now raise your hand if you know what dance is?…Open your eyes and look around at all the hands."

Nicole was the only one raising her hand.

"You see where I'm going with this? You haven't truly studied Earth until you have listened to music and moved with the beat. Now raise your hand if you don't know what the hell I'm talking about." About half of them raised their hands. "I know dat's right." Some more laughs. "Well, we're gonna do some dance, just to see how you like it. Dance is actually a motion, you just move to the rhythm. Now, to get this done right, Jazz will give you some of the steps, even though they're in the song, and I'll demonstrate. Jazz, baby?"

The white mech walked up and took the microphone from her. "Yo, yo, yo, how's everyone tonight?" Some shouts. "Good? Alright. Now, this here's called the 'Cupid Shuffle'…" Jazz kept giving the dance steps, and Nicole demonstrated for all of them. To give out the whole thing, for those who learn visually, Jazz played part of the song and Nicole did the entire series of steps. "You think y'all can do that?"

The room agreed together.

"You betta be telling me de truth!" Jazz walked back to the DJ system. Nicole grabbed his microphone before he scampered off to say a few more words.

"If you get lost, just follow the person in front, next to you, or me. And don't try to step on anyone's feet, I've seen it happen and it ain't pretty People fall over like dominoes." A couple of laughs. Nicole moved her mouth closer to the microphone and deepened her voice. "You ready for this?"

"YEAH!"

"Let's do it!"

_To the right! To the right! To the right! To the right! To the left! To the left!…_

Everyone was having a blast! Jazz was dancing alongside Nicole, there was laughter, some making the dance steps a bit more crazier by adding an extra motion with the upper half of their body, some stepping on feet like Nicole predicted, and even the sophisticated members of the board were dancing! Let me tell you, watching Alpha Trion do the Cupid Shuffle was a YouTube moment! Once the song ended, everybody clapped their hands and cheered.

"Y'all want another one?" Jazz said in the microphone. The room cheered again. "All right, all right. Now, the whole song is filled with the steps, okay? Some are confusing, so let Nicole show you how it's done. When the guy says 'cha cha now ya'll'…" Jazz continued with the other steps and Nicole gave the demonstrations. "You guys up for it?"

The room cheered.

Nicole took the microphone. "If anyone gets the urge to come on stage and dance with me, do so immediately! Let's hear it, maestro!"

_This is somethin' new, the Casper Slide part two, featuring da Platinum Band, and this time, we're gonna get funky…_

For a while, people kept looking at Nicole for the steps. Once they had it a quarter through the song, about ten others, including Gunsalt, Red Mark, and even Optimus Prime himself, were up on stage dancing with her. When it got to "How low can ya go?" there were a couple of cheers and laughs as they saw Prime getting down. The song ended, and the crowd went into an uproar.

"Let's hear it for the mixing music master himself, Jazzy DJ!" Nicole shouted in the microphone. The crowd cheered and Jazz gave a bow. He walked up and took the microphone away.

"And les give it up for da girl who made it happen, da one who showed us all how ta have some fun, Miss Nicole Baring!" Nicole curtsied while the crowd cheered for her, too. "Hey, how 'bout you sing us a song, Miss Baring?"

"Oh no, I couldn't!" Nicole said shyly. The room started filling up with "Come on! Just one! We wanna hear ya!"

"But I really couldn't, I get stage fright."

Jazz raised both of his optics. "_Stage fright_, you said?" The room laughed. "Stage fright?! After doin' a shuffle an' a slide, you tellin' me you got stage fright?"

"Dance is fine, boy, but I'm terrified of singing!"

"Come on, Nicole!"

"Yeah, let's hear it!"

The girl bit her lip and looked at all the others who cheered her on to sing. She took the microphone from Jazz and they cheered for her. Once they quieted down, Nicole gave a few words.

"Well, uh, I didn't know this was gonna happen. Truthfully I didn't know any of _this _was going to happen, right now! Before all of this started, I was just sitting at home and spending the whole day on my computer because nobody was home and none of my friends seemed to want to do anything with me…Shocker, huh?"

"I'll say!" said someone in the back.

"Yeah, after the Casper Slide, you'd think I was the most greatest person for a party, huh?"

The room cheered for about ten seconds, then quieted down again.

"What I wanted to say is, thanks for making this happen. Although I was stuck in my room for a month--" She snapped her head over to Perceptor, making the crowd laugh. "--it was nice to know we humans aren't alone out here in space. I want to thank one individual for breaking me out of my room four days ago. He's charming, he's funny, he can be a hothead at times, but he's a friend…" She looked around the room as if she were trying to find his face. "For you, Jytter."

* * *

The mech wasn't sure what to say. After the fight and her knowing he was a Decepticon, she would dedicate a song to him?

_Humans are so annoying when it comes to emotions._

_Shut up, bastard, I'm trying to hear!_

"Thanks for being my friend. Jazz?" The white mech started up the slow music. "…_I see trees of green, red roses too…I see them bloom, for me and you…And I think to myself…What a wonderful world…_"

Around Jytter, he heard some sniffs and saw others captivated by her voice. Jytter had her sing before, but this felt a lot different. She didn't sing because the crowd made her; she sang because she wanted to thank him for being a friend when no one else was. In the back of his mind, that evil Decepticon tried to shout at him to "kill her already!", but it was muffled, he couldn't hear it. He was to busy listening to Nicole.

"_I see friends shaking hands saying 'How do you do?'…They're really saying 'I love you'…_"

"She's so beautiful…" Jytter whispered to himself, no one able to hear him. All his life he had been taught to kill Autobots and to destroy every single organic he saw. Nicole made a difference, not just to Jytter, but to all of Cybertron. Hearing what humans were ale to offer was truly amazing, incredible, but no. Those words weren't big enough to describe.

"_And I think to myself…What a wonderful world…Yes, I think to myself…What a wonderful…world…_"

The music died down, Nicole opened her eyes and noticed some of the mouths slightly dropped and others wiping tears. After a long moment of silence, a hand started clapping, by Optimus Prime. Following him was Sentinel (surprisingly), then Perceptor, and then Jazz. Soon, the whole room was filled with applause. Nicole could tell she was blushing and gave a slight bow to show she appreciated this.

Jytter, however, was the loudest one clapping for her and gave out a cheer. Others gave some whistles and cheers along with him, but none could top him.

_Oh, please_, said the voice inside his head. _A couple of pitches? If you ask me she was…she was…_

_Go ahead. How did she sound?_

_Damn it! She was astounding!_

_That's more like it…_

In the corner of the room, three figures, with a perfectly colored-over paintjobs, watched their prey closely as she walked off-stage.

xXx

Brianna: Jazzy DJ sounds like Daddy DJ, don't it? And, yes, for the snazzy Jazzy fans, he wore a bow-tie. X3 For and extra note, during the end of the Casper Slide, Nicole was shouting out some things like "We got a couple freaks in the front here!"  
Who wants to torture the living heck out of the Insecticons right now? Alythia, you don't need to answer, you bug freak, you.


	12. Confess

Chapter XII

Nicole's song was over, and Jazz mixed up another slow song. He told everyone to pick a partner, and that it had to be co-ed, and start slow dancing with them. Nicole was standing by herself, somewhere against the side wall. The blue Kickback saw this as his chance and walked towards her. Once she noticed him, he bowed low and offered his hand.

"May have this dance?" he said.

Nicole felt captivated. She never had a guy ask her to dance with him, especially in slow songs. Being polite, she gave him her hand and the mech escorted her over to another section of the dance floor. The girl looked around at all the other partners and laughed.

"Looks like you guys pick up pretty fast with this," she said, smiling up at him. Kickback had his arm around her waist and another arm holding her hand. Nicole's other arm was on his shoulder, you know, like any other slow dance. "And please just swing to the beat, I don't want to get dizzy."

"Of course, my lady."

"You seem like a nice guy. What's your name?"

"Kickback."

"Kickback…Sounds like a good name for a music lover, huh?"

"That's what someone told me after that shuffle."

Nicole laughed and her head somehow wanted to look down. Obviously she was nervous, and the hidden Decepticon knew it. He moved closer towards her body, making her just a little bit more uncomfortable. His head moved towards her ear and whispered.

"You don't have to be scared. We won't hurt you. Look, everyone's having a good time and so should you."

Nicole froze after "We won't hurt you". That was familiar. _Way _too familiar.

Interrupting her thoughts, someone had tapped Kickback on his shoulder and both him and Nicole stopped. Kickback turned to look at the mech and nearly started to growl.

"Mind if I cut in?" he asked. Kickback said nothing, but Nicole slowly changed partners. They did the same motion her and Kickback were doing, except they were even closer.

"What are doing here, Jytter?" Nicole said to the mech. "If any one of the guards catch you, that's a surefire ticket of you going to jail."

"I don't care, Nicole," Jytter said in an almost snarl. "I had to come save you."

"From what, exactly?"

"First of all, him." Jytter used his head to point to Kickback. "And the ones around him." Nicole looked to see a green bulky mech and a skinny yellow one standing next to him. "Those are called Insecticons. They're a sub-group for the D-cons." He put his arm up to spin her and put her back into place.

"You mean we've got bad guys on the dance floor? What are they doing here?" Nicole asked.

"They want to perform tests on you to find out what a human's weakness is. I told you about the All Spark, right?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"They think it's hidden on Earth. That's why they plan to exterminate your entire race and everything else on your planet."

"How do you know this?" Jytter brought out an arm to dip her.

"Because I just escaped from my room after hearing it." He brought her back up.

"So, tell me, what were doing on the Decepticon side, anyway?"

"Hey, I didn't choose, okay? I was born into it. Kickback's my dad."

Nicole's eyebrows raised up as high as they could manage. "Excuse me, sir? That guy I was dancing with was your daddy?"

"Yep. Way to impress the family, huh? Hm. And Thunderblast, a jet Seeker, is my mom. So I'm not in between sides, I'm born into the Decepticons. Born to kill and destroy and, because I'm half Insecticon, to eat flesh."

"Please don't scare me like that…" Nicole said in a shaky voice. Jytter pulled her closer do her arm could come around his neck in a somewhat hug.

"Don't worry. I can control my hunger for meat. Unlike Shrapnel over there. Look at him." Nicole turned and saw the skinny yellow Insecticon. He was looking straight back at her with eyes filled with nothing but hunger. He even had an itch to eat; he couldn't keep still. It was like an alcoholic who hadn't had his beer in three days.

"I want to say something," Jytter said, making her look back at him. His face looked a little down and a bit caring. "If I was a terrible Decepticon, like everyone believes, why did I come back to warn you?"

"I…I don't know…" Nicole said, feeling a bit stumped.

"Hey, hey, don't cry, alright? I don't like seeing you cry, remember?" He pulled her in closer. Both of them stopped dancing so the mech could hug her. "I need to get you away from here, Nicole. I don't care if you say no, I have to get you away from the three members of the Manson family that's standing right there. We can't go to your room, they'll get to us easy. Is there a place that we can hide?"

"Well, I…I know a place. Perceptor showed it to me and said that we use it for emergencies, like fires."

"Lead me there. And we have to stay far away from them, behind everyone, so my dad won't see us." Nicole gave a nod as he let go and both human and Decepticon walked quickly past the crowd. She lead him down several dark hallways and made it to a room. She tried to open the door, but the vault was too heavy. Jytter offered to do it and it opened was a scraping sound at the floor.

"Ladies first," he said, bowing. Nicole smiled, gave a curtsy, then walked in the metal room. It had only one light hanging on the wall and didn't give much to be able to see. So far, only Jytter's changed blue optics were the brightest thing in the area.

"So, you hungry?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"Take a guess."

It took the girl a while, but she figured it out. "You still have my food in sub-space, don't you?"

"And it's as fresh from the day you stole it, you little demon," he teased. From nowhere seeable, Jytter threw up a full grown carrot and handed it to Nicole. She took a bite of it, making a large crunching sound.

"Not bad," she said, mouth full.

"Thanks."

"You got any Dr. Peppers stored in there?"

"You didn't bother to get any."

"Oh, yeah…How about grapes, or a cantaloupe? I know I at least grabbed some green grapes."

"These?" Jytter pulled out another bag of food and tossed it over to her. She zipped open the bag to find her grapes. She plopped them into her mouth, one by one.

"Little hungry, aren't ya?" he chuckled. Nicole giggled with her mouth full.

"You betcha," she said. The girl swallowed down the sour grapes. "Ah, God, I haven't had these in forever. Well, not _forever_, but you get it."

"Hm." Nicole threw the bag of grapes to the side of the room and sat against the wall. Jytter followed her and sat beside. He kept an arm behind her head, letting it fall down to his chest.

"What made you come?" she asked. "I know it was to warn me, but there's something more. I'm usually psychic about these kinds of things."

"You…You won't believe me."

"Boy, I traveled across a space stream to become an experiment and you're telling me I won't believe anything?" Nicole laughed. "You're more stupid than you look!"

"All right!" Jytter said, getting her to be quiet. She closed her mouth as he transferred his position so that he was crouched over her body and looking at her face. Nicole was honestly scared of this. Jytter searched his mind for the right words.

For my whole life, even when I was, I quote you, a psychotic killer, I wished for a girl like you. One who's strong, relies on herself half the time, won't take my slag, who'll make me laugh, and I make her laugh as well. Right when I tapped on your window, I knew everything wasn't the same. It wasn't coincidence. Honestly, whenever you left, I remembered who I was and couldn't believe that was actually me. Spending time with you, something clicked into place, and something told me my true place. I belong on Iacon, I belong to the Autobots, and I belong to you. I love you, Nicole, and no one has the power to change that. Not even Primus."

Nicole was choked up. He loved her, really? She had to say something.

"I've never had a boyfriend, you know. You probably noticed. I never thought that anyone would love me this fast. Especially with my friends running around with their crushes, I was the only one without a guy. But, I felt like I knew, from the first time I heard your spark beating, when you held me close, that you loved me. You didn't have enough time to know me; who I was, what I liked and disliked, where I like to go, I just knew that you loved me…for me."

Jytter's head moved backwards to look at her. Salty tears ran from her eyes down to her cheek. His used his tongue to wipe them off, and Nicole giggled.

"You are such a geek," she said.

"I'm _your_ geek," he replied.

A loud thud interrupted their laughter. Both turned to see the door. Another bang was heard, and Jytter gripped his arms around Nicole's back, keeping her from the wall.

"They found us," Jytter gasped. Nicole gave out a small whimper and pushed her body against Jytter's. "How thick is that door?"

"About five inches, why?" she cried. Scaring her to death, Kickback's swords peeled through the metal, and moved to create a whole circle.

"Dad's swords are seven; it's not thick enough. He'll come in at any moment."

"I don't want you or me to die!" Nicole sobbed, her head against his chest, her tears down the front of him. He put a hand on her head and another on her back. He tried to shush her, but she wouldn't listen.

"We won't, I promise," he whispered. "Once he comes for me, make a run for it. I'll hold him off. Stay in the crowd and make sure the others don't see you."

"What about you?"

"I'll be fine. I can handle him."

"You're going to kill him, aren't you? You would kill your own father?"

Jytter put both of his hands on her jaw and made her look up at his face. "I'll do whatever it takes to save you." Both of them were silent, none wanting to break a silence disturbed by Kickback's scraping. Without knowing, the girl's head moved towards Jytter's. The orange mech knew this motion better than anyone and pulled his own head forward. He closed his eyes, but Nicole kept hers in a peek to watch him kiss her. A warm wave of assurance swept over her, or was that Jytter? The taste of him was unimaginable, but it was kind, happy, and caring. This taste was so alien to her, but it was amazing. Jytter, on the other hand, felt the sweetest taste that couldn't come from anything by simply eating it.

The clatter of a five-inch thick circle made them jump and look at the enraged Insecticon coming through. His hands replaced by energon swords and eyes filled with fury.

"Isn't this a sweet picture?" he growled. "You've betrayed your own family, Jytter. You're a disappointment. I knew you didn't have it in you to kill her!"

"Nicole, RUN!" Jytter shouted. The girl ran for the open door. Kickback tried to stop her, but was interrupted by a punch in the head by his own son. "Keep going! Don't ever stop!"

Kickback roared and brought his right hand sword towards her. She screamed out, and Jytter was able to block his father's attack with his own hand swords. Kickback looked at his son and smiled.

"You better hope you remember your training, because you weren't finished," he smirked. Jytter kept his game face as Kickback moved his arm to release his sword. Nicole ran out of the room, not looking back.

She ran out into the crowd, who were already dancing to _Technodisco_. She was a sore thumb in the assembly, not because she was organic, but because she looked panicked. Everyone else was smiling and talking to each other as if nothing was going on.

The girl looked over to the side wall to see Bombshell and Shrapnel leaning against it. She hid herself behind some bodies that walked in front of her and ran the other way.

Shrapnel's sense of smell and rage of hunger caught up with him. He pointed his sensors to the air and nudged his partner.

"She's on the move," he said hungrily and licking his lips. Bombshell chuckled and followed him close behind.

Nicole ran about ten feet out of the room and tripped. She looked down at her legs and groaned.

"Duh," she muttered. The girl stood up and took off her high-heeled shoes. She threw them across the area and ran ahead.

Shrapnel was ahead of his large friend and sniffed the air. He smelled two different directions; one to the left, the other ahead. He looked to the left only to find her shoes. He smiled to himself and turned to see Bombshell.

"Right ahead! She can't go far!" he said. He turned into a beetle and crawled away, Bombshell doing the same.

As for Nicole, she wasn't sure why she was running here, but she just knew it was safe for her. Jytter's neighborhood might've been a dump, but it was a place where the Cybertronians would accept her. She ran through the broken debris and hid in a dark alley. Finding some kind of dark and sticky substance, she covered her entire body in it. (Who cared if the dress was stained?) Once she was finished, she heard a voice outside ask if they saw a human pass by. They received an answer, but as they went, they walked in front of the alley. Shrapnel stopped and sniffed again.

"_I lost her…_" he said sadly. He turned back around with Bombshell and tried another place. Nicole let out the breath she held and took a couple more. This was all too much!

* * *

"What's the matter, boy? Can't even fight your old mech?" Kickback snickered. Jytter was hit badly above his hip and tried to hold the bleeding. He remembered fighting his father, but he didn't remember him being this good.

"I won't let you hurt her," he growled, standing up to fight again.

"You never learn!" Kickback yelled, charging at the orange 'bot with both swords ready to pierce into his spark chamber. Jytter closed his eyes and focused. He was fed up with his own family! He never chose them, and he didn't want anything to do with them, especially if they were going to harm his chosen bond-mate. He opened his eyes, a bright blue, and roared.

Before Kickback could kill his son in cold blood, Jytter cut him first. In his mid-section were two arm-swords, coming right through and slicing the back. Jytter's swords had grown thirteen more inches.

"I've underestimated you…" Kickback groaned softly. Jytter was frozen, paralyzed at what he did. The mech brought his energon-stained swords back into his hands and watched as his father fell before his feet.

"You'll make a perfect Decepticon, my son…"

Jytter growled. "I'm not your son."

With one more swing, his right arm brought back his sword and he screamed as he took it into Kickback's spark chamber. The Insecticon's chest crackled with the sound of a breaking spark. Light emerged from him as the spark shattered and fell before Jytter. Kickback's color disappeared and he fell before the orange mech.

"I'll take my chances with Prime," he spat.

xXx

Nicole: Ho...ly...crap...

Brianna: Yea, boi! Yea!  
Who's happy that Kickback died? (Alythia, I know already...;D)  
Are thinking "It's about freaking time!" when they kissed?

You know, for the people who haven't reveiwed but put this on story alert, ya'll should feeled ashamed. I work hard making these stories for ya!


	13. Where Have All The Good Mech Gone?

**You know, maybe if I write well enough, some talent scout might come by on FanFic and make this into a movie! I'm playin'...But I still wish. What about y'all?**

Chapter XIII

Jytter stood above his dead father's body. Kickback's face held a terrified scream, looking dreadful against the grayscale figure. For some time he looked at it with hatred, with irritation. That's when the geek squad of one walked in…

"I knew it had to be you!" Sentinel shouted, chasing after Jytter with stasis cuffs. The orange mech dodged the large blue officer and grabbed his arms. Sentinel moaned out in pain and growled at the Insecticon.

"Party crasher."

"Try hero," Jytter snarled. He let go of Sentinel and pushed him to the floor. "Look over there and tell me who you see."

Sentinel followed instructions and stared at the offline Decepticon. In the files, didn't that one show up as Jytter's dad?

"Is he…?" he started out.

"Yeah, he is. And now Nicole's out there somewhere with two others trying to sniff her out."

_I know where she is._

"Oh, what do you want now?"

"Huh?" The officer was confused.

"Not talking to you, I'm talking to my head. You said you know where she is?"

_During the kiss, I couldn't help but notice how close you two were. She bonded with you, Jytter. Yes, it was a simple gesture, but it worked! You're connected to her for as long as you both shall live. _

"In the words of a human priest, eh? Hmph. Where is she?"

_Think about her for a second._

"You're joking, right?"

_Do it!_

"Fine! Dang, pushy…" Jytter closed his optics and put a vivid picture of Nicole into his mind. Next thing he knew, he was sent back into a separate dimension that gave him an image of his neighborhood through someone else's eyes. He felt his mouth open in that other world shouting "Jytter! Where are you?! I'm out here!"

The mech snapped back to reality. Sentinel looked down at him with a confused look.

"She's in another region," Jytter explained. "Send the guards out to sector nineteen and have them search there. You'll find her soon enough."

"Hey, wait, STOP!" Jytter was already out of the room and out into the area filled with party guests waiting to leave. Sentinel tried to chase after him shouting "Don't let him escape!" A few other guards noticed who Sentinel was talking about and raced after him. Jytter kept looking behind his shoulders to see who was coming after him.

Once he made it outside, he quickly transformed into a mantis-jet and took off. Three guards, with Optimus Prime and Sentinel, looked out at the Insecticon.

"What now?" said one of the guards. Optimus looked to Sentinel.

"What did he tell you?" he asked.

"He told us to search sec nineteen to look for Nicole. She's being chased by some other Decepti-scum."

"Send in four armed teams after her. We promised she'd stay alive as long as she's on Cybertron!"

* * *

Nicole was scared, entirely. Those things were still out looking for her, but she didn't know how long this stuff on her body could contain her scent. Not to mention the dark scene surrounding the place. It looked like a ghost town with no one here and sent a chill through her being. The girl found a spot over near some garbage (which she couldn't smell, actually) and sat against the wall, wrapping her arms around her legs. Dark, cold, creepy, what a blast!

"Yo, girl, who you?" said a voice. Nicole turned her head to see three 'bots walking around lazily with cubes in their hands. "I sai who you?"

"Are you…drunk?" Nicole asked.

"Yeah, yeah…You wan some?" He held out the cube which was half full.

"Hell no! I'm an organic!"

"Oh…" said another. "No wonder you look tasty…"

"Excuse me?"

"C'mere, girl. Lemme lick ya." One walked forward and grabbed her by the arm.

"Let go of me!" Nicole started kicking and wiggled her arms to try and get out. The mech acted as if she wasn't doing anything and rubbed his glossa hard against her neck. "You nasty son of a biscuit head!" _Biscuit head? Really?_

"Mm, she _is _good!" the mech groaned. "Come 'ere an' try it." The other two walked up, one grabbing her other arm and the other her hips. Nicole screamed like a banshee, making the one on her hips groan. The girl remembered how she made Perceptor's ears bleed with her screeching and decided to try it again.

"EEEAEAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

All three mechs let go of her and fell to the ground with their hands covering their ears. Nicole took another breath and held the high note again. She noted the energon seeping from their heads, and when she decided they were tortured enough, she closed her mouth and looked at them with a victory half-smile. They looked up at her with fear and pity in their eyes.

"Leave," she said simply.

"Primus slag, she's a glitch!" said one.

"Les get outta here!" said the other. They helped up their third partner and carried him down the street. Nicole put her fist in the air as a sign of triumph. Too bad it didn't last long.

"Nice technique, technique…"

"Aww, shizz…" The girl turned around to see Shrapnel standing behind her with large eyes and mouth drooling.

"I've waited days for this…!" With a hungry roar, the Insecticon dashed forward, but Nicole was smart enough to move to the side and make him fall into a pile of rubbish.

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!" she screamed. Nicole was about to shout again when her head started pounding and a shrill electronic hum in her head. She looked to see a large mech in front of her. Looks like these boys had time to scrub off their paints.

"I don't care if the Autobots can detect me. I'm hungry and I need to feed!" Bombshell roared. "And from your scent, you're the best meal a mech could ask for."

"So I've heard…Ack! Let me go!"

"Not a chance, chance!" Shrapnel shrieked. "Bombshell, kill her already! I'm _starving_!"

"Give me some time! I'm trying not to hurt her so much that she'll taste bad. Her brain is more simple than ours and I don't know what might happen if you _rush me_!"

"Then for taste's sake, let's eat her alive, _alive_!"

The large insect seemed to agree and released the psychic pulse on Nicole. Her head had pounded with her heart (which seemed to be a fast pace) and looked at her hand to see blood from her ears. Shrapnel came in close from behind, breathing down her neck and clawing into her arms. Bombshell leaned forward and held to her chin to see her face.

"Don't worry," he assured her. "The pain will go away soon enough."

"You bastard."

"Ah, go to Inferno for all I care."

"You first."

Shrapnel licked the back of her neck, enjoying the taste of human skin. He let his hands search her entire body like he was going to have sex, but what he was actually doing was feeling for the meat. The back wasn't too bad; the midsection was _very _juicy; the legs had a little fat; arms were too small; mouth had the toughest muscles, but too tough to chew; but between the neck and shoulder, the trapezius, seemed to be the best area to nibble on.

"Found it. I call the shoulders, shoulders!" he said happily.

"Stomach and liver are mine!" Bombshell called.

"Somebody help me!" Nicole cried. Now she knew how cannibal victims felt during a famine. The thought of being eaten alive had disgusted her, but both the Insecticons tried to block that thought with all of their touches. The girl couldn't help but cry in both fear and pleasure. She felt Shrapnel chuckle as she did.

"I think she likes us, us…" he whispered near her ear before he licked it. Bombshell pulled up her shirt to put his own mouth on her stomach.

"She's tastes so good!" he groaned.

"Help…" the poor human moaned weakly. Her body heated up too much. Somewhere in the back of her mind, the touches were supposed to do that; heat her up as if they were cooking her.

"Can we eat her now, now?" Shrapnel begged.

"No! No. Let her function a bit longer. She'll pass out soon enough."

"Oh, how long will it be, be?!"

"Probably a mega-cycle or so."

"WHAT?! I'm hungry, hungry! I want eat her _NOW_!" He bit hard into her shoulder, making her scream.

"Silence her! We can't be caught!" Bombshell ordered. Shrapnel released his jaws and licked his lips.

"Oh, ho, ho! Her blood is fantastic. Try it, try it!"

Bombshell groaned and moved towards her right shoulder. He took a lick into her wound and swallowed.

"Mm…" he moaned. "Truly delicious…"

_NICOLE!_

The girl opened her eyes up to look at the starry sky. Could it really be?

"Jytter?"

"Augh, _don't _mention that traitor to us, us!" Shrapnel demanded. "I'd like to eat my food in peace, peace!"

_Don't panic, Nicole. It's really me. Look around for a bit, so I can see where you are!_

The human girl turned her head to the left to see a blank street filled with old houses and broken articles. She moved to the right to show Shrapnel's head still licking her cut. Nicole heard Jytter groan in anger in her head.

_Don't move! I'm coming!_

"Like I have a choice…"

"Exactly," Bombshell chuckled. He held her head and kissed the left side of her neck. "You don't have a choice. You're nothing but a meal to us. Once Megatron exterminates humans, we'll help by eating some of them." She felt him snake his hands up the rest of her shirt and cup her breasts with his hands.

"This is all my fault…"

"No, no, it's not _your _fault," he chuckled. "_You're _not the one who decided to come here. Who were the ones who brought you in for studies?"

"Autobots."

"Yes! Them! They're the reason you're here! Right now, you would be safe at home, instead of being dissected by Cybertronians."

"No…"

"Yes."

"NO!"

"Believe it!"

"NO! I DON'T WANT TO!"

"YOU BETTER! Mm…Too bad Kickback isn't here to enjoy this…"

"Yeah, about him, he's dead," said the voice of Nicole's savior. Both Insecticons stopped to see the orange mech standing several feet away.

"Jytter bug!" Nicole cried in joy. Bombshell and Shrapnel growled. The largest insect stood up and faced the mantis.

"Keep cooking her, Shrapnel. This won't take long," he growled. "You've got ten cycles to get out of here, Jytter."

"Good! That gives me five to whup yo aft!" His arms switched to ten-inch long swords that glowed red with heat. Bombshell stood ready to shoot him with a cerebro blast. "Don't even bother!"

Bombshell tried it anyway, but ended up hurting his own processor. He turned off the blast and looked at Jytter.

"That's right, you had lessons against this! I forgot."

"Well, you better remember somethin'!"

"You can't say anything that will make me fight you!"

"Oh yeah?" Jytter cupped his hands around his mouth. "YO MOTHA'S GOTTA REALLY BIG ASS!"

Nicole couldn't help but laugh hysterically. Shrapnel found it rather irritating, but she didn't care. She saw Bombshell's face turn purple with the energon flowing to his head and roar.

"Don't talk about her that way!"

"When she sits down, she's three feet taller!"

"SHUT UP!"

"She can't even fit through the door without Bonecrusher pushing her through! (note or remember that Bonecrusher is a bulldozer)"

"I said SHUT UP!" Bombshell snarled loudly and dashed at Jytter. The youngling was too quick for him and jumped over his head. He pushed against his back to make him fall flat on his tank. Jytter jumped onto his back and placed a sword near his uncle's neck.

"So, would you like me to slice into pieces like sushi, or do want it simply through the spark?"

Bombshell's words were lost since he was too busy thinking about how he had been beaten so easily.

"Yeah, you're right. Spark is less painful." Jytter leaned backwards and plunged the sword through his back into the spark chamber. Bombshell gave a mighty roar and ended up just like his brother. Jytter got off of his back to let pieces of him crumble into the ground. Shrapnel looked at his nephew with horror.

"You're a monster, monster," he said.

"_You're _the one eating my girlfriend!" Jytter shouted. "As they say here in the ghetto 'I'm-a cut chu!' Now get outta here before I make that happen!"

Shrapnel obeyed orders and left Nicole laying on the ground. Jytter walked over to her, knelt down, and helped her sit up. The mech took her head in his hand and let it lean against his chest.

"He's gone, okay?" he whispered. "He's…Oh my god, look what they've done to you!" Jytter noticed the large bite mark on her right shoulder and purple slobber on her stomach. "Are you okay?"

"Not really…"

"You'll be fine, just relax, okay?" Nicole looked at his face before her eyes started to droop. "You'll be okay…relax…"

xXx

Brianna: Honest to God, who couldn't help but laugh at Jytter's remarks?! XDDDD That's what I get for watching a comedy while typing!  
On some other note, this is probably my second rape scene I've done in my stories, but this lastest much longer and had a bit more intensity in it.


	14. Because The Gods Have Sent Me Home

Chapter XIV

She had no idea how long she slept for, but Nicole knew it had been a very long time. Once her eyes opened fully, she tried to think about where she was. She was actually sitting in a tub, filled with a deep blue liquid that had such a peaceful aroma that she would fall asleep again. She looked over to see a hand just barely in the strange water and knew immediately that it was her favorite mech.

Before she could do anything to wake him up, Perceptor came into the room to check on her. He smiled as he saw that she was awake and safe.

"Hey, dude," she said.

"Hello, Nicole," he replied. Both looked over to Jytter. He was laying across the floor, parallel to the tub. His arm draped over the edge of the tub. "He hasn't left, you know. He's been here ever since you came in. He really cares about you."

"I know," Nicole smiled. She moved her left hand up so it could touch Jytter's. The fingers twitched a bit and then curled to wrap around her wrist. "Good morning to you, too."

"Mmh…" Jytter looked up at Nicole with lazy eyes. A cute little smile came across his face, making her giggle. "It's nice seeing your face first thing."

"Aww, ain't you sweet?" she teased, putting a hand on his cheek. He held it there and stared at her for a long time.

"You feeling better?" he asked.

"Depends. Am I sick?"

"You had a lot of internal damage, thanks to Shrapnel's bite," Perceptor answered. "Insecticons are built with parasites that infect an organic's body, thus making it hard to even try and breathe. You're lucky that Jytter found you soon enough before that happened."

"So what's with the tub…and…am I_ naked_?! Dude, you can't stop stripping me, can you?!" Nicole screamed. Perceptor looked over at Jytter, indicating that it wasn't him that did the stripping. Nicole's shocked eyes focused on her lover as his face seemed to create a tint of red.

"Sorry…" he said shyly.

"You are _so _lucky you're cute…" she growled. "Next time, you ask permission before you do _anything _else! That clear?"

"Transparently. May I kiss you?"

Nicole laughed for the heck of it. "Sure! Why not? The knight gets a kiss from the princess."

Jytter leaned in over the tub to kiss her. They held it for five full seconds and let go.

"More like a goddess," he whispered. Nicole shrieked inside her own head at the cuteness and bit her lip. As if knowing what she was thinking, Jytter chuckled.

"Nicole?" Perceptor interrupted. "I need to speak to you in private. Jytter?"

The orange mech's face looked down at the floor, then back to Nicole, giving a sad look. The girl was about to ask what was wrong, but he already walked out of the room, the door closing behind him. Perceptor stood in front of Nicole's vision and took a breath.

"I have some bad news, or good news, whichever you would prefer," he started. "I had promised you that you would be back home in time for school. In three days, high school begins."

Nicole's eyes filled with silent tears as she stared at her caretaker. She was going home? At last? The studies were finished, she was able to go home! But that also meant leaving Jytter, her one friend that could never be replaced. She was going to leave him forever, and, in time, forget who he was. Perceptor established the memory issue.

"To make sure you don't give any hints that we exist, I'll have to erase your memory and fill them with generated others. You won't remember any of this."

Nicole's throat had choked up, not knowing what to say. She would argue the fact that they would erase her memories-- erasing Jytter-- but with everything else, the Autobots wanted to play it safe and make sure she wouldn't flap her mouth about anything that happened.

"We're giving you one more day here. You can do whatever you like as long as you follow regular rules. Understood?"

"Yeah, I get it…"

"Good. You're clothes are hanging over there. Get dressed and Jytter will meet you in your room."

_Whoa, you don't mind if he's in my room? Perceptor, where was that attitude a couple days ago when he was hurt? _Nicole stood up from the tub after Perceptor left, the sweet-smelling, blue liquid dripping off her body. She grabbed a towel and dried every inch she could get to. The girl threw the towel across the room and walked over to her clothes. All the time, she was thinking of how to spend her last day with her best friend and her first lover.

* * *

Jytter sat outside on the steps, wondering how Nicole might've taken the news. She had to be devastated, right? He was her only friend since she came in for the studies. But what if she was happy? Hadn't he tried his best to be a friend when he was just someone to hang with? Primus, what's a mech to do?

"Jytter bug," said a sing-song voice. The orange 'bot turned his body around to see Nicole dressed in baggy clothes, making her look like a tomboy. "Hey."

"Hi. So?"

"Well, to be honest, I have no idea what to think." Nicole walked down the steps with him and they started strolling together, not knowing where they were going. "I want to go home, I really do. I miss the trees, birds, blue sky everyday and a moon every night. But I don't want to lose you. You've become so close to me that you're practically inside me."

Jytter chuckled at the sentence as he remembered what his other side had told him about their first kiss. He scratched his head, looking for the right words.

"Heh?" Nicole repeated. "What does 'heh' mean?"

"It means that was more accurate than you think," he said, smiling at her. "I know it sounds crazy, but right now, you've got cybertronuim running through your bloodstream because of me."

"You mean…when the…and we…?" Nicole had no words. Jytter just nodded his head and came in for another kiss. The girl yelped at the unexpected motion, but eased when she felt a sense of calamity rush through her. She put her arms around Jytter's neck, making him lean in closer and his own arms placed around her waist. A single moan from his throat and Nicole felt a surge of power finding its way inside her. She tried to let go, to make it stop, but Jytter held her neck so that she couldn't escape. She didn't have any choice but to keep kissing the mech.

The blood inside her rushed around like fish downstream. Everything felt wild and her brain started to spin with the overload. Jytter was the dominator in this part and kept holding her, letting his body tell her to never let go, that he didn't want her to go. The feeling ran across Nicole's body as she felt shivers of that same power wrap around her insides and take over. Her Cybertronian half told her stay and be with Jytter for the rest of her life, but the human within kept screaming that she didn't belong here and to go back to Earth _right now_! Of course, the Cybertronian followed Jytter's example and was the majority inside the girl.

Jytter suddenly let go of the kiss, allowing her to breathe. It was obvious he wanted to hold that kiss longer, but Nicole needed some air first. Instead, he started kissing her neck and trailing licks from that point to her ear. Nicole groaned at the feeling of it and her rational side kicked in hard.

"WHOA! Red flag!" she said, releasing herself from Jytter's grasp and holding up a time-out sign with her hands. Jytter's face held confusion and she laughed. "The licking? Over the top, okay? I would only let my husband do that."

"You have a husband?!"

"NO! Hell no! I meant when (or if) I _get _husband!"

"Oh…I'm sorry."

"It's okay, man. But next time, if you try that again, I'm getting a big ass can of bug spray and knock you down until you scream 'uncle', okay?"

"You go, girl!" he said in a goofy, enthusiastic kind of way. He put his arm around Nicole and asked what she wanted to do.

"No clue…I think we've might've had enough fun, but I want this last day to be great! I don't care if I remember it or not, I want to make it special."

"But like you said, there's nothing to do around this entire planet that would probably involve a human. We don't even have amusement parks for Primus' sake!"

"Y'all suck…What if we just take a walk? You know, pick up on things we don't know about each other. And this time you don't have to have any excuses; you're telling me about the D-cons, no mater what happens!"

"Eh, I guess…"

Nicole saw the sadness and rejection in his optics and cupped his face to make it turn and look at her.

"I love you, all right? I love for who you are and just for loving me for me. Who cares if you were a Decepticon, I love you and I'll never stop."

"But you won't even remember any of this."

"Make me, Jytter."

* * *

The whole day went by fast, so fast that they named it after the fast-talking speedster, Blurr. Perceptor had agreed with Nicole to let Jytter spend the night for one last time. The teenagers ran to her room, Jytter tackling Nicole on top of the bed.

"Quit it!" she laughed. The orange mech ignored her and started to tickle the girl. "AH! Stop! Ha-ha-ha! YAH!"

"You know you like it," Jytter teased, tickling her some more. Nicole tried to fit into a ball to escape the touches, but Jytter always found his way to another tickle spot that was open to him.

"Ah, you're killing me!" she shouted playfully. She laughed so hard that it made Jytter laugh, too. Once he decided that was enough, he stopped tickling her and rested his body against hers, his head on her chest, listening to her fast heartbeat.

Nicole had to take in a few breaths before she spoke. "Oh, good Lord…"

"I wore you out, didn't I?"

"Ya think?"

Jytter chuckled some more. He moved his head so he was looking straight up at Nicole, and she was looking over at him. Both were smiling and both forgot that tomorrow was her last day, until it finally busted through the mech's mind. He moved his body up so he was eye-level with her head and started stroking her hair.

"Are you scared?" he asked.

"About leaving Cybertron? No. But leaving _you_? I'm terrified."

Jytter kissed the side of her head and whispered into her ear. "It'll be okay. You'll see."

Nicole wanted to argue. She loved Jytter all too much to be taken away; she told him that. The girl wanted so badly to stay here with him and to keep each other company. She even saw in the mech's blue optics that he loved her enough to make her happy forever. Nicole had always felt picky about having a boyfriend and then marrying him; that he would cheat on her someday when he went through mid-life crisis. But she knew, deep down in there, Jytter wouldn't be able to do that. His love was meant for her, always was and will be until the ends of time.

* * *

Nicole didn't remember falling asleep, but she knew she did once she heard a rough sound somewhere in her room. She sat up on the bed and looked at Jytter. Holy crap, he was snoring…

"Silly Billy…" she muttered as she got out of bed. She looked around to see that all of her stuff was gone, cleared out, and making the room look very dull and full of space that begged to be stuffed up.

"Jytter?" she said, shaking his arm. The mech groaned and rolled to the side. "Come on, Mr. Lonely, you've got a girl waiting on you to _get your aft up and running before I do it for ya!!!_" The last part of that she hollered in his audio, making him wake up suddenly and fall off the side of the bed with a loud thump.

"What is _wrong _with you?!" he exaggerated.

"It's seven twenty-nine, and Perceptor said I was leaving at eight. You _have _to be there to watch me leave!"

"No! It'll be too painful for me."

"Jytter, the last face I want to see is yours when they erase all my memories of the last month. I'd _really _want you to be the one that holds my hand when they do that. Please?" se begged. Jytter looked at her face, full of pity and making him fall into that same-old sympathy crap.

"Fine, I'll do it. If that's what you want."

"Yay!" Nicole wrapped her arms around his neck, almost choking him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Gah, you're welcome already!"

"You're not much of a morning person, are you?"

"Only if it's a rude awakening."

"My bad…"

Jytter turned his back on her as she was getting dressed. She still didn't like it that he was the second mech to see her naked, and in just a month's time at that. When she was finished, Perceptor came in to lead them to where Nicole was to have her memories replaced. The girl's heart trembled at the thought of forgetting her lover. Now she didn't _want _to go home. Staying here would be the best thing ever, but she'd just be in the way all the time. There was no room for organics on Cybertron, take it or leave it.

Perceptor led them into the room, with Optimus Prime and Alpha Trion already there to tell her good-bye.

"On behalf of Cybertron, we were glad to have to have you here. Not just for our studies, but for showing us, um…how did that go again, Jazz?" Alpha Trion turned to the white mech for some help.

"Is called 'getting down'," he answered.

"Right, right…"

"Nicole," Optimus spoke. The girl looked at Prime, failing to hold back tears. "It's been a pleasure knowing you, and I'm sorry we had to do this."

"I understand, sir," Nicole whimpered, sniffing and trying to speak correctly. She knew she had to say something more, but that was pretty much it. The girl looked over to Jytter, purple energon coming form his optics.

"No, don't look," he sniffed. He covered his face, but Nicole removed them.

"It's rare to see a guy cry," she said. "That's really what a girl wants to see; that the man's sensitive enough to care for her. Thanks for being there."

"Y--You're welcome," Jytter cried. He put his arms around Nicole to give her one last hug. "You be safe now, okay?"

"Don't worry about me. I'll be okay, you'll see."

"Hopefully I do."

Nicole's tears came in hotter and faster, racing down her face and splashing softly to the floor. Jytter wiped some away and smiled at her. Nicole smiled back and turned to face the machine that was going to take away Cybertron, the month, and Jytter, away from her mind.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you…more than words can say," he whispered back. Nicole's throat choked up again as she walked forward towards the table. She laid down and had Alpha Trion fix the helmet onto her head. Jytter walked up and looked down at her. He leaned in to give her a kiss. It made Nicole's heart jump another beat and have her head say "What are you doing?! Get out! You love him!"

"Bye, Nicole," Jytter whispered.

"Good-bye, Jytter," Nicole whimpered as her vision became a flash and saw her memories change right before her eyes.

The girl woke up back home, laying on her bed and the alarm blaring in her ear. She moaned and reached across the table to find the snooze button. Knowing that it was going to turn off again, the girl lazily got up from the bed and walked over to her messy closet.

"Nicole, are you awake?" her mom called from the living room.

"Yes, Mom!" she shouted back. _What a weird dream that was._

* * *

Back on Cybertron, Jytter stared out of his bedroom window. Hours ago, Optimus accepted him as an Autobot recruit and made him a guard for the base. But all the mech could think about was Nicole. Oh, she would've jumped for joy knowing that he was on the right side, like he should've been, but she wasn't here to share the unmade joy.

Perceptor walked in, to check and see if he was awake. The red scientist automatically knew what the youngling was thinking.

"I am sorry, Jytter," he said.

"It's not you're fault."

"I have a question: If it was any other girl we had for studies, do you think you might've fallen in love with her?"

"No, absolutely not," Jytter replied without hesitation.

"Oh. You're guarding area three this morning. Cliffjumper will take over your shift at lunch, then you report to the main hall. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. I expect to see you there." With that said, Perceptor walked out of the room. Jytter sat down and slumped on his berth. He spotted something at te corner of his optic and looked. He grabbed the object lying on top of the small desk and sniffed.

Nicole's lime hair-tie still held her scent.

xXx

Brianna: Aww, come on, now, reader, don't cry! *hands you tissue* Blow yer nose...uh, no, you can keep that... But, hey, I got some good news for ya! The only thing that'll make me write a sequel is because Shrapnel didn't die. Yeah, you right! I'M-ONNA MAKE A SEQUEL! God, I'm having a total Brainwave moment going on here. How 'bout you, Alythia? Since you're the only one here who really knows that story...

K.I.T. for the sequel!

You know what's weird? I have that lime green hair tie sitting right next to me as I typed this and didn't even see it there...ooh wee woo!


End file.
